Just Another Mission
by Cynder7777
Summary: It was just another mission. Sure, it was harder than most. Getting captured wasn't the easiest thing in the book. Sakura knew the level of risk involved. And there was one person who she might see; someone she despised. For the sake of the mission, she would take that risk. But when things take a turn for the worse, will it still be just another mission? SasuSaku
1. Chapter 1 Just Another Mission

**Disclaimer;** I do not own Naruto, and I don't know how good this story is. One of my friends liked it and claimed it was good, so I'll let you be the judge. First shot at writing about Naruto! Enjoy!

This story is AU, a slight variation of the series. This story takes place as if several things never happened; Orochimaru, for some unknown reason, wasn't able to take Sasuke's body and is waiting an extra 4 years to try again, the Akatsuki haven't yet showed their faces, and Sasuke is still consumed by his need for revenge. Throughout the years, he has thoughtlessly tried to kill Sakura and Naruto multiple times with no signs of remorse and just continues to grow frustrated with his futile attempts to find his brother. Orochimaru serves as Konoha's greatest enemy, thus the need for this mission. In an attempt to cripple him, the Hokage is trying to find out what she can... Yet a mission like this can never go perfectly...

Please enjoy!

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**Chapter 1; Another Mission**

"This is an S rank mission, Sakura. Are you sure you're up to it?" The fifth Hokage blinked slowly at the young woman in front of her.

Tucking a strand of pink hair out of her face, Sakura smiled softly. "Yes, Lady Tsunade. I think I can do this." She leaned forward over the desk, and slammed her hand hard down on the table.

Next to the girl stood a tall boy. He watched with bright blue eyes without saying a single word.

Tsunade turned and spoke to him. "Naruto, that's where you will come in. For this mission to work, it has to be realistic. You and some of the other chunin need to go there too to lead a fake mission."

"This'll be easy! Believe it!" Naruto exploded. His messy blonde hair swung wildly as he stuck out his arm and gave her the thumbs up.

His eager attitude only made the fifth Hokage frown. "Naruto, this is too important for your carelessness. As I stated before, this is an S rank mission."

Sakura turned and stared down. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes. This mission was going to be difficult. Sure, infiltrating the enemy's own village and sneaking out information wasn't a piece of cake. But this enemy was Orochimaru. That snake loving monster was very dangerous, and had set it as his personal goal to destroy the Hidden Leaf Village; Sakura's home. Even worse, he had taken away a very powerful ninja and twisted him to his own commands. Now, this ninja, formally Sakura's teammate, was a missing-nin, and an international criminal. Even worse, he had once snatched Sakura's love, and when she pleaded for him to stay, he declined. The young ninja's fists clenched in anger. Never again would he do this. Never again would Sasuke Uchiha steal her love.

The ninja straightened up. "Let me get this straight. All I need to do is get captured by Orochimaru's men and find out valuable information, and then leak it to the Leaf ninja. Am I right?"

Naruto looked at his companion with concern, and Tsunade nodded. "Yes. Naruto will take some of the other chunin and lead a mission in Sound Village general area. You must be caught during the mission. Do you both understand?"

Sakura blinked and nodded, her emerald green eyes flashing. Naruto watched her for a moment longer, and then beamed at Tsunade, "Of course, Grandma Tsunade! We got this down, believe it!"

The young looking woman nodded. She smiled, looking a mere 20 years old despite the fact that she was in her 50s. "Go ahead then, you too. Choose your team. And whatever you do, be careful. This mission is of the utmost importance, but that doesn't mean you should go and get yourself killed during this mission." She glared at Naruto. "Especially you, Uzumaki."

Naruto sighed. "Don't worry. I'll be careful. Nothing will happen to me or Sakura."

Tsunade turned her back towards them, staring out the windows in the chamber at the blue sky. "Go on. I know you are both prepared for this. Sakura, I know firsthand that you can do this. You're training has gone extremely well. But still, be careful. Orochimaru still has him."

The pinkette lowered her gaze and growled coldly, "He means nothing to me anymore." Then, she turned and stalked away.

* * *

Sakura sat calmly on a bench on the outskirts of the village, alone with her thoughts. Naruto had gone to find the other chunin he wished to bring with him. Chances were that he would come back with some of the strongest ninja of the village, like Neji Hyuga. If Neji was coming, then the rest of his squad would probably be on the way too, which meant Rock Lee and Tenten. Naruto would also probably get others like Kiba and Akamaru, or maybe Shikamaru.

Her green eyes half closed, the young ninja sat in silence. A sharp voice interrupted her mind.

"I heard that you're going on a special mission, Billboard Brow."

Without even lifting her head, Sakura snarled, "Ino-pig."

A soft laugh echoed behind her. Sakura Haruno turned and looked right into the blue eyes if Ino Yamanaka. Her hard stare softened, and she smiled at her friend. "I've heard… Rumors about the degree of this mission."

"What sort of rumors?" Sakura's green eyes blinked slowly.

Tucking a strand of her long blonde bangs out of her eyes, Ino murmured softly, "That you're going to become a spy in the Sound Village. Sakura… You know you can't do this. Sasuke is still out there…"

Shaking her head, Sakura murmured, "You still have feelings for that traitor, don't you?"

"… Yes."

The pink haired ninja stood up and faced her former rival and current friend. "Oh, Ino. You don't know what's good for you."

Despite the gently rebuke, Ino leaned forward and gave her friend a warm hug. "Stay safe, Sakura. Sasuke won't hesitate to kill you."

The two friends broke apart, and then Ino turned away. She padded away into the village and called over her shoulder, "Got a meeting with Choji! He demanded to see me… So I'll catch you later!"

Sakura stood in silence once again, and then returned to her perch on the bench. She sat and placed her head in her hands. Her forehead guard felt cold against her hands, the steel engraved with the symbol of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. She pulled her headband off and rubbed the blue fabric, silently dreading what was to come. Despite her fear, she would never breathe a word of this to anyone, but she still felt her nerves eating away at her.

"Sakura! We're ready!"

At the sound Naruto's voice, Sakura tied her headband back in its original spot; holding her hair back as a headband. She turned to see Naruto running up towards her, followed by 6 other ninja. The 17 year old ninja skidded to a halt only a few feet away from Sakura, followed closely by the rest of the team. A sharp bark came from Akamaru from his stance next to Kiba. Neji stood next to his cousin, Hinata, both in silence. Rock Lee stood with his arms crossed, his large eyes eager and full of enthusiasm. Tenten leaned against the wall and was sharpening a kunai. The last member of the group stood silently, his finger lifted. Shino was studying the beetle that he held on that finger, lost in a word of insects.

"Uh, Naruto… You realize that this squad is a little large…" Sakura raised an eyebrow at him.

The blonde boy smirked. "Well, come on. This squad is barely big enough. We need all of these combined minds to make this mission a success…"

Sakura sighed. "Whatever you say, Naruto."

His blue eyes narrowed, and his whisker-like birthmarks on his cheeks standing out against the skin. But he said nothing, just turned and gazed out over the endless forest. "Are we going to leave soon, or not? Come on, we don't have all day…"

Kiba stood up and said calmly, "Let's go."

The 8 ninja squad all turned towards the forest. They all stood there for a moment, before they departed into the endless shadows of the forest, heading toward one destination; the Sound Village.

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**A/N;** Ok. I started watching Naruto because of a good friend of mine, and it made me feel like writing a story about ninjas. So she helped me figure out a plot and stuff. I hope you enjoy it!

**Got Questions?**

If you're confused on anything at all in the story, feel free to ask! I don't want any confused people walking around. No matter how stupid you think the question is, ask away! After all, the only stupid question is a question not asked. (Don't forget that I have the right to not answer any questions… don't want to give away any surprises I have in the future!)

**Review, if you please!**

I'd really appreciate if you'd review. Tell me what you think I should change, any ideas you have, etc… I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks for trying my story! Hope it was worth your time.

-Cynder7777


	2. Chapter 2 A Sound Surprise

**Disclaimer;** I still do not own Naruto.

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**Chapter 2; A Sound Surprise**

The wind whistled through the trees, ruffling there endless leafy branches. Sakura glanced around, although she didn't slow herself from the extremely quick pace that all the ninja were moving at. Deep in the Land of Sound now, they were all coming to an area that was thought to be the location of one of Orochimaru's hideouts, but no one really knew exactly where. Deep in the pit of her stomach, Sakura knew that this was the place. They were here.

She faltered for a moment, giving the other ninja a signal to fall back. Starting at the front of the group, everyone came to a stop and landed in a silent clearing. The trees towered around, casting long shadows from the early afternoon sun.

"Hey Sakura… What's wrong? Why'd you stop?" Naruto asked, blue eyes round and questioning.

The pinkette looked down. "This is the place. I can feel it in my gut. This is where we have to look for Orochimaru's hideout."

Neji Hyuga blinked at her with his white eyes. His long dark brown hair shifted as he nodded in agreement. "Sakura is right. This is where we should look." He looked at all the other ninja, then turned back to Naruto. "You are the leader of this mission, Naruto. Tell us what to do."

Akamaru growled low in his throat, his white fur standing on end. Kiba put a hand on his dog's shoulder. "Akamaru can smell them… They're definitely here. Come on, Naruto. We're all waiting!"

The blonde kid grinned in anticipation. "Ok, Kiba, Neji. You're right. Let's do this thing!" He looked at the ninja before him, and calmly stated, "Everyone, you know your squads. Get a good look around. Remember; our goal is to find the hidden base of Orochimaru!"

Almost instantly, Shino, Kiba and Akamaru, and Hinata turned and dashed off into the woods. Tenten and Neji stood next to each other and watched as Rock Lee approached Sakura. He looked at her with his black, bug eyes. "Be careful, Sakura. My heart would stop its own beating if yours' should cease."

She raised her eyebrow at him. "Uh…"

Tenten shook her head, her brown bangs swinging softly. "Come on, Lee. Sakura doesn't need the added stress of you drooling over her as usual. Let's go already…"

The tall ninja in his green jumpsuit turned and looked over at his teammate. His shiny black hair flew to the side as Lee spun around. "Of course, Tenten. Let us leave now."

Once their last team member joined them, the team of three turned and disappeared into a different part of the forest, leaving Naruto and Sakura alone. Before they disappeared completely, Sakura could hear Neji grunting, "Byakugan!" which activated his special Kekkei Genkai of the Hyuga clan.

"You know what we have to do," Naruto calmly stated.

This was true. Sakura did know, and it had very little to do with finding the sound ninja hideout. Before they had even left the Land of Fire, their home, the squad had stopped and gone over the _real_ plan.

_Flashback…_

_Naruto stood in the center of the circle of 7 ninja. All of them stared directly at him, as he started to explain the plan. "All we have to do is head into the Land of Sound. Remember, I told you all in the beginning that the goal was actually to get Sakura captured, so we have to lead a fake mission. It has to seem like a real mission, so act like it in the Land of Sound. There, we will split into squads of 3. Neji, Lee, and Tenten, you'll be the first squad. Kiba and Akamaru, Hinata, and Shino, you'll make up squad two. Sakura and I will be squad three."_

_"Only you two on squad 3?" Neji asked quietly._

_"Yes. They'll see it as a lapse in the Leaf Village planning, and it'll only make it easier for them to capture Sakura. But be careful. In the Land of Sound we'll still be targeted. We must all make it out alive. And even more important, _don't _even mention our real mission. It's far too dangerous, with ears everywhere. If they even begin to get the slightest idea what the real goal is, they'll kill Sakura in an instant."_

_The other ninjas all turned toward Sakura and just looked at her solemn face. Tenten spoke up. "What a difficult mission… So we need to get Sakura captured, huh? You really don't need us for this, do you, Naruto?"_

_"Uh… Pretty much!" The tall ninja smiled weakly._

_Kiba rolled his eyes. "Wow. Thanks."_

_"Everyone understand?" Naruto looked around for a second, then yelled, "All right let's go!"_

_End of flashback…_

Naruto trotted out towards a branch of the forest the other squads hadn't head near, then turned and stared at Sakura. "You coming yet?"

"Oh, sorry." Sakura disappeared into the forest after him.

They traveled a way out into the forest, and then they halted in a small clearing. The bushes surrounding meadow seemed like the perfect place for someone to hide. Every sense in Sakura's ninja body was tingling with the thought, but she said nothing.

Naruto spun in a circle, and called, "Let's start looking here!" He ran up a random tree and circled it, then dashed to another one, circled it, and another. For a second, Sakura just stood there, staring at him, then with a shrug started scouting the ground for footprints.

Over the long hours that stretched, both of the ninjas scanned every inch of the forest. Nothing appeared to be there and soon Naruto had grown bored and was sitting next to a stream and staring out over the water. Sakura's annoyance was quickly growing, and at last she stalked up to him and snarled, "Naruto, I'm the only one working! Aren't you going to help me?"

He shot her a look with dull blue eyes. "I'm taking a break, Sakura."

The pinkette's emerald green eyes narrowed in rage. "Well, get back to work!"

"Give me a break, Sakura. I've been looking all day."

That was the last straw. "Working?" Sakura screeched in fury. She clenched her fist and with a grunt of rage, drove her fist into Naruto's stomach. "I'll show you working!"

The force of the punch sent Naruto soaring into the large trunk of a tree. He hit it with so much force that the wood cracked and bent. As Sakura straightened up smugly, Naruto fell from his point of impact on the tree and crumbled to the ground. With a groan, he forced himself to his hands and knees and groaned, "Ouch."

Sakura crossed her arms and stated calmly, "Now, let's get back to our mission."

Naruto weakly lifted a hand. "Ok… Give me a second to… Catch my breath…" He went back to his panting.

Sakura shrugged and turned back to the earth that she had been studying.

Slowly, Naruto lifted his head, and his blue eyes widened in shock. "Sakura! Behind you!

The kunoichi's eyes widened in alarm, and she slowly turned around, and stared directly into the eyes of two sound ninjas. Both were tall men; one had long black hair, the other short brown. They both were smirking down at Sakura, with an evil gleam in their eyes.

"Look what we have here. A pretty little ninja from the Leaf Village. Looks like you and your teammate are a little lost, huh?" The larger of the two ninjas laughed cruelly. His black eyes narrowed to a brutal slit.

Sakura narrowed her eyes dangerously and reached towards her kunai. Crouched beneath the two men, she stood up slowly and her arm snapped out, her weapon in hand. "We were just making ourselves at home in your little forest. After all, Orochimaru won't last very long against the full force of the Leaf Village once we find your hideout!"

The sound ninja laughed darkly. "She's a hot one. That temper of hers… Worked well for us. We'll make quick work of you while your friend here is still recovering from his wounds."

With a cry of anger, Sakura lunged forward with her kunai. The blade missed as the ninjas stepped to the side. Smirking, they charged forward at her and with their own daggers, they stabbed at her. Sakura skidded to the side and twisted away from the two. She pressed her palms together and concentrated on her chakra flow. She'd have to be careful not to use her full strength, because otherwise they would have a hard time capturing her, plus she needed to preserve her strength. But she had to give them a good fight…

The two ninja separated and surged toward her from two different sides. Sakura held her ground, eyes closed in concentration. When at last they were close enough, Sakura shoved her hands out on the two sides the enemies were coming from. They each gasped in pain at the sheer force of the blow and dropped to the ground. While they were on the ground in agony, Sakura moved a few paces away from them and stood in silence.

Naruto was still struggling to climb to his feet, and he stood there, half leaning against the tree. His face was contorted with mostly faked pain, but he had his determined look in his eyes. He met Sakura's gaze, and nodded.

The two attackers struggled to her feet and glared at Sakura. "You little pest," the smaller one snarled. Both of them paused for a moment in anger, then with a snap of their arms sent a four shuriken soaring towards her. With little effort Sakura dodged.

Naruto suddenly leapt to his feet and shouted, "Sakura! I got to get the others… Don't have enough energy to fight…" With that, he disappeared into the forest.

That was a complete lie, but it was the perfect move for the plan. Without having to worry about Naruto would make it easier for the other ninjas to capture Sakura, and it would be more realistic for her to get captured. If Naruto was there, he would have had to step in at some time. But with him gone, this battle relied only on Sakura's own strength.

The two men laughed coldly. "Oh, you poor little pathetic weakling… You're boyfriend abandoned you… So puny…"

Sakura snapped her head around to focus on the enemies in complete outrage. "What did you call him? My _what?_"

The two sound ninja chuckled and broke apart. One disappeared into the trees, while the other, larger one smacked his hands together. "Earth style; landslide!" he growled after performing a series of hand signs.

Sakura dashed toward the side instantly. Right where she had been standing, a huge amount of sand and dirt collapsed and spilled over the ground. While the enemy ninja was still recovering from his jutsu, Sakura raced up towards him and delivered a second crippling punch. The man crumbled to the ground with a moan and Sakura stood over him triumphantly. But then she turned and started scanning the trees carefully for any sigh of the second ninja.

He soon made his presence know to her by chucking a couple kunai at her. With little effort, the young ninja sidestepped and the weapons soared harmlessly past. She dashed up into the edge of the forest and scrambled up one of the many trees. Studying the surrounding area carefully, Sakura waited for the other ninja to make his move first. He appeared on a branch of a similar tree and just stared her down. Then, with a dark glare and a flurry of hand signs, the sound ninja hissed, "Water Style; Black Rain."

Instantly, black rain began to fall from the sky. The sticky oily rain fell and coating every surface of the nearby forest. Sakura hid her face from the liquid, her green eyes flickering. While the dark fluid hindered Sakura's vision, the other ninja rushed towards her. However, Sakura was only playing him.

The moment he came within her range, a sly grin crossed Sakura's lips. She simply turned a couple degrees and slammed out her fist. The clueless enemy rammed right into it, and collapsed weakly.

This was way too easy. Sakura was supposed to get captured, not beat the pulp out of every Sound ninja in the next 10 miles. Blinking slowly, the pinkette stepped away from the weakened ninja. She headed back towards the clearing, where she had left the other ninja.

But when she got there, the first ninja was gone. The entire clearing was empty, other than the large pile of debris from the jutsu that he had used. Sakura snapped her head around and studied the surrounding area. She could detect the flicker of movement that had to be from her enemy, but for the sake of the mission she did nothing with the knowledge.

From the bushes behind her, Sakura could hear a whisper from the Sound ninja. She couldn't tell what she said, however. Keeping her back towards him, she continued to pretend to study the surrounding area. But something from behind her caught her attention. "Might want to duck, sweetheart!" The ninja called out to her.

Sakura spun around and spotted a dragon-like head appearing out of the dust. The strange thing made of mud opened its jaws and hurled several orbs of mud straight towards her. With her lightning-quick reflexes, Sakura spun out of the way and dashed into the forest. She sprinted through the maze of trees and skidded to a halt in the middle of the forest. Both ninja appeared in front of her and whipped out a long sword each. They both grinned darkly at their target, before both slamming their palms together, even with their swords.

"Water style; water dragon bullet!"

"Earth style; earth dragon bullet!"

In unison, both ninja used their jutsu. A huge dragon appeared out of pure water, while next to it the same earth dragon appeared as before. As the earth dragon shot out a series of mud bombs, the water dragon rushed towards her violently. Sakura dashed to the side and barely evaded the blunt of the blow from the water, but one of the earth bombs slammed into her leg, causing her to stumble and fall to the ground. This slight falter was just enough to give one of the two ninja a chance to throw a shuriken at her. Sakura was barely able to evade a crippling blow, although the shuriken still gave her a deep cut on her right arm.

The two ninja surged at her from both sides while she was still down. As they grew near, they both swung their swords. Her hair flowing into her face, Sakura did a handspring to get out of their path. One ninja was still able to deliver a light cut to her left shoulder, although she avoided the blunt of both blows. The other ninjas were able to skid to a stop without hitting each other, and both turned towards the pink haired ninja. She balanced with her legs spread wide, watching the other ninja carefully. Both of her opponents stood up straight and waited patiently for her to move. She took a step back and reached for another kunai. Her hand clasped on one, and she threw it at them and quickly dashed to the side, reaching for another. Soon, she had sent 4 kunai flying towards her opponents.

They were able to dodge the weapons, and countered by throwing a smoke bomb at her. Sakura twisted out of the way and dashed out of range of the bomb. The smoke erupted from it, but it did nothing against Sakura. She just crouched and waited for the next attack.

* * *

The sun was a distant ball on the horizon, yet Sakura continued to fight on. Her two opponents had been able to score a few crucial blows, but most of them Sakura had countered with a powerful moves of her own. Despite her going rather easy on them, she had ended up knocking both ninjas out. She had run around for a while and ran into four more Sound ninjas who had heard what had happened to their comrades, and now thirsted for revenge. Now, the young ninja gasped for breath, blood trickling from the many wounds on her body. These four ninjas were tough opponents, and she had only scratched a few of them.

Even worse, Sakura had a dark feeling that someone was lurking in the shadows and watching this entire encounter, and whoever it was couldn't be good.

The sound ninja all set themselves up to send another wave of attacks towards Sakura. She tensed grimly, prepared to try and evade the worst of the attack. But more than half of her chakra was gone, and the longer this took the sooner she would run out. It wouldn't be any good if she was out of chakra when she was captured. Then she'd be helpless in Orochimaru's hands.

A blast of fire came soaring through the air towards her; one of the 4 attacker's jutsu. She leaped out of the way, the heat of the flames hot on her back. Two of them raced at her, weapons in hand. Sakura took them on, delivering powerful punches and swiping with her kunai. However, no matter how talented she was, she had to lose the battle. Considering the odds, it wouldn't be a hard task. But these ninjas weren't trying to capture her. No, they were trying to kill her. Makes it a little harder…

A dangerous swing with one of their daggers caused a painful gash across Sakura's ribs. She broke away from them, and landed on a branch of one of the nearby trees. Using some of her chakra, Sakura used her mystic palm technique, and healed some of the worse of her wounds. She returned her gaze to the enemy ninjas, who were advancing once again.

This battle needed to end; now. One more move was all she needed. Then she could "go down" and get defeated. The sooner this happened, the better.

Another ninja started doing hand signs, which meant another big jutsu. Sakura tensed and prepared to avoid the worst of the attack. The ninja stopped his flurry of hand motions and pressed his hand forcefully down on the ground. A large fissure started to open up in the ground, creeping its way toward the tree where Sakura stood. She leaped down to the ground, scrambling to move before the fissure caused the tree to fall. But in her haste, Sakura landed wrong and stumbled. The one of the other ninjas tore down towards her, and gave Sakura a harsh punch right in the stomach that she normally would have been able to avoid. She let out a wheezing gasp and fell on the ground, her teeth fiercely clenched.

The enemy ninja looked down at her with a smirk. His short black hair stood ruffled from the long battle that had been raging, and his black eyes flashed darkly. "Let's end this now!" he roared, and lifted his sword high above his head.

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**A/N;** Here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy it.

**Got Questions?**

If you're confused on anything at all in the story, feel free to ask! I don't want any confused people walking around. No matter how stupid you think the question is, ask away! After all, the only stupid question is a question not asked. (Don't forget that I have the right to not answer any questions… don't want to give away any surprises I have in the future!)

**Review, if you please!**

I'd really appreciate if you'd review. Tell me what you think I should change, any ideas you have, etc… I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Hope it was good! Have an excellent day!

-Cynder7777


	3. Chapter 3 Serpent's Lair

**Disclaimer; **I do not own Naruto. I just wanted to write about it.

* * *

**Chapter 3; Serpent's Lair**

"Stop."

But the ninja had already started swinging down at the trapped Sakura. His eyes widened as he heard the command, but it was too late to stop the weapon from its pummel down at the young ninja. At the last second, the ninja adjusted his grip a mere fraction, which was just enough to send the sword deep into the ground a centimeter from Sakura's neck. She lay there, gasping in fear and alarm, staring at the one who had saved her life.

He was a rather tall ninja, with long silvery gray hair. His black eyes gleamed from behind his large rimmed glasses. Crossing his arms across his chest, the ninja smirked down at her, his Sound ninja headband gleaming in the light of the setting sun. He wore a dark purple shirt with a high color, and dark purple pants. Taking a single step forward toward her, the ninja crouched down and looked at Sakura with a large sneer on his face.

"Good thing I was watching this battle the entire time. Quite entertaining… But she would be far more interesting if we were to capture this kunoichi."

The other sound ninja almost seemed to shrink down in shame. "Why?" he almost whimpered.

"Because," the ninja adjusted his glasses before continuing, "This is Sakura Haruno, one of the Leaf Village shinobi. She will be of great use to Orochimaru. Surely you've noticed how much he's been talking about her? He has quite an interest."

Sakura forced herself up to her knees, still supporting herself with her hands. She stared at the ninja in fake horror and whispered, "Kabuto…"

He blinked at her, then stood up and turned away. "Grab her and take her with us," he called over his shoulder to the other Sound ninja. They all surrounded her with their ninja speed and just glared at her.

Kabuto turned and hissed menacingly, "Well, aren't you coming? Let's go already." He turned back around and added, "Knock her out first. We don't want her to discern the location of our base."

One of the four enemy ninjas nodded sharply, and then turned back to Sakura. He laughed at the determined look in her eye as she watched him warily. "Don't worry, you pretty little thing," he purred. "We'll take good care of you." with that, he disappeared and reappeared right in behind her. Sakura felt a sharp pain in the base of her neck, and then everything went black…

* * *

Hidden well in the bushes, the other eight ninjas from the Leaf Village watched. Naruto was tense with anxiety as he watched the men roughly grab Sakura and carry her away into the forest.

Lifting up a finger, Shino sent a small beetle off towards the event before them. The little bug was soon too far away to see. Shino turned back around, his shaded glasses hiding his dark eyes. "There. If we end up losing her, my insects can still track her location, as long as that female beetle lands on one of them. That way, we can still find Sakura."

Kiba looked at Akamaru, who was growling softly and baring his fangs. "Good to have a backup plan, but that's try to avoid having to use plan B. Let's go so we don't lose her!"

Lee lifted his fist determinedly. "Yes! For the sake of our mission we must follow the enemy ninja!" With that, the ninja sprinted after the Sound Ninja. With an exasperated sigh, Tenten followed him.

"Let's go." Neji turned and followed his teammates. Shino and Kiba came too, leaving only Hinata to stand next to Naruto.

She looked at Naruto with soft kindness in her white eyes. "Come on, Naruto," she whispered softly, trying to hide a slight blush that lit her fair skin. Naruto turned and looked at her with his bright blue eyes.

"You're right, Hinata. We should go too." Naruto stood up and grinned down at her. "Come on, Hinata." He disappeared after the others, leaving a slightly flustered ninja after him, before she followed him.

* * *

With a soft groan, Sakura opened her eyes and blinked slowly. Her emerald green eyes widened as she took in her new surroundings.

Stone walls surrounded Sakura; she was in some sort of cave, which was surely a secret base of Orochimaru. Thick steel chains held Sakura to the wall, preventing her from moving even an inch. A few torches hung on the rocky walls. Hidden in the shadows of the cave, Kabuto watched her. At the sight of his prisoner's eyes, a cold smile lit his face.

"Oh, you're awake now, aren't you? Took your time. It seems that whenever Lord Orochimaru's ninja do a job, they do it through and through, all the way to the end." He nodded at her. "But you're awake now. I'm sure that this will make Lord Orochimaru more than pleased." His ash-gray hair swung around as he turned and walked into a side passage.

Sakura lowered her gaze. The chains were uncomfortably tight around her body and legs. Her wrists and ankles too were held tightly, and made it plenty difficult for Sakura to even twitch. Even worse, she could feel her chakra slowly draining away. These must be chakra draining chains. A sigh rattled in Sakura's chest. It wouldn't be too difficult to break these chains now with her chakra amplified strength. Luckily, Sakura had been able to save up a good amount of her chakra, mostly due to her excellent chakra control. But now was not the time to break free. She just needed to wait, even though her preciously saved chakra was slowly leaking away.

Another few minutes passed until Kabuto returned. His glasses reflected the light of the flaming torches as he stepped to the side to make room for another ninja to enter.

He stepped out of the shadows, his amber snake eyes gleaming in cruel amusement. His waist-length black hair hung down, hiding the edges of his narrow face. His skin was so pale it was white; the only color his purple markings around his eyes. A dark smirk entered crossed his lips. He wore a dark gray high collared shirt and black pants. His purple rope belt was tied in a large knot as usual, and when he moved his head and his hair shifted, Sakura could see his blue earrings.

"So, Sakura. Nice to see you again." Orochimaru hissed softly.

Tensing nervously, Sakura whispered, "Orochimaru…" She couldn't help feeling a speck of rage towards him. After all, in the beginning it was all his fault that Sasuke had left and broke her heart… She felt nothing for Sasuke any longer, but the pain he had caused since for all of the ninjas of the Leaf Village…

Orochimaru laughed cruelly at Sakura's reaction to him. He stepped forward and leaned in close to Sakura. His extremely long tongue snaked out and came extremely close to Sakura's cheek before it snapped back into his mouth. When he saw the look of disgust in her eyes, the missing-nin smirked. "My, my, Sakura Haruno. You sure have matured a lot in the last year."

It was true. Compared to the last time Orochimaru had seen Sakura, she had matured. She had grown into a beautiful young woman, with fair skin and gorgeous green eyes. She was fit and strong, in very good shape. Even chained to the wall of this underground room, they could easily see this fact.

The dark ninja narrowed his reptilian eyes and turned away. He murmured something to Kabuto, and then left the room. With a final glance at Sakura, the other ninja turned and followed his master out of the room, grabbing the torches that lit the room with him.

They left the room completely dark and silently. Sakura let out a breath, wishing that this stupid ordeal could be over already and that she could go home to the comforts of her home. But this mission was only just beginning, and she was fully aware of that. Nothing she did would change how long this mission was bound to last.

Even worse, she just knew inside her that Sasuke was nearby. She didn't know anything else, other than it would be sooner rather than later that she would have to meet him face to face. Her arms trembled with rage at the thought. When she saw him, that traitor, she would tear him to shreds.

Another long sigh rattled through the air from her. The pinkette had no idea how long she had been out, but from what Kabuto said it had to have been at least a day, more likely two. In the damp darkness of this cave, Sakura had no idea what time it could possibly be up on the surface. Down her, it was always that impending twilight, the dark hours of the night. Morning never came in the deep, dark world of tunnels; the only light came from torches or any other manmade things that Orochimaru decided to use.

The young ninja closed her eyes again. She knew that she was ready for whatever was to come. Lady Tsunade had taught her everything she knew, and Sakura knew she could handle this mission. Nothing was going to ruin this for her. She couldn't allow it to happen.

* * *

Hours in the darkness passed, although it felt far longer to Sakura. She had never been the biggest fan of the dark, let alone being chained to a stone wall in it for hours. But eventually, her captors returned.

At first only Kabuto paid her a visit. He said nothing, only came into the room, stared her in the eyes, and turned and left. It was beyond bizarre, but Sakura said nothing.

The next time, Kabuto arrived followed closely by Orochimaru. The latter just leaned up against the wall and did nothing at all, other than study Sakura with his bright, amber eyes. She tried to ignore them, but it wasn't easy to ignore someone who seems to be having an identity crisis between human and snake who is also just staring at you. So Sakura ended up just returning his sharp gaze until at last he left without a word.

Sakura sighed. She would never know exactly what Orochimaru was up to, and she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to know. How she would leak information to any Leaf Village shinobi was beyond her, but it would have to be soon, for the sake of this mission. Hopefully her teammates were able to follow her and report her location to the Fifth Hokage.

It was only a matter of minutes until Orochimaru and Kabuto were back. They both entered and stood in front of their captive. She lifted her head and met the gaze of both of them, but she had nothing to say. They just stared at each other in silence.

Before too long, Orochimaru spoke. "What am I suppose to do with you, young kunoichi?" he asked softly, his eyes gleaming. "What am I to do with a young Leaf shinobi like you?"

Sakura lowered her gaze and still said nothing.

A cold laugh echoed around the small room. "What will be more useful, do you think? Should I torture you for secrets of the Leaf Village? Or maybe hold you hostage for the next raid…" His snake tongue slipped out of his mouth and returned back to it.

Still Sakura said nothing. Being tortured for information was definitely one of the last things she wanted to happen. Not only was the thought horrible, it would put the mission at stake. Being held hostage for the raid wasn't a good thought either. Orochimaru would never run out of evil ideas to ruin everything for the Leaf Village.

"Nothing to say? Nothing at all, Sakura?" The villain smirked at her and her silence. Still the young ninja refused to speak.

Suddenly, she snapped her head up and stared right past Orochimaru. She could feel it… Feel him… It had to be him…

Orochimaru pulled his head away and looked at Sakura. Confusion flashed in his eyes but was soon replaced by his normal, unreadable gaze. Slowly, he followed her gaze, and yet saw nothing.

"You really are so strange, aren't you," he hissed in slight confusion. Sakura's gaze never wavered, still glued to the empty doorway. She trembled slightly, trying desperately to control the hatred that she felt flowing through her veins.

He was nearby.

Kabuto just sighed at her. He shook his head and then turned away. "I don't understand what her deal is, Lord Orochimaru."

The dark ninja blinked slowly at her, his amber gaze gleaming. "What does it matter? She's under my control now." He leaned in close again, his tongue rolling in his mouth.

"OROCHIMARU!"

His eyes dilated into the thinnest slits, and Orochimaru twisted around and stared at the still empty entrance.

Still empty until…

A tall ninja stormed in, his onyx eyes flashing in rage. His raven bangs framed the sides of his face in long spikes. The rest of his hair hung in the back, sticking out in more spikes. He stood in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest. He wore a blank black shirt and pants, his only color from his blue open toed shoes. He glared at the one who should be his master, eyes flashing.

It was him. The traitor of the Leaf Village.

Sasuke Uchiha.

"Where the heck were you? Our training session was an hour ago! You better have a good reason for being late, Orochi-" Sasuke trailed off, his eyes frozen on Sakura. His mouth hung open in shock, but his eyes still were unreadable.

The dark rage overflew through Sakura at the sight of him. She clenched her teeth and narrowed her eyes in fury. "You…" she hissed in at him coldly.

Sasuke's eye simply twitched at her, but he said nothing. She strained against the chains that held her, burrowing into her chakra store to add to her strength. With a growl of anger, she wrenched herself away from the wall.

Everyone watched Sakura as she snarled in rage. Orochimaru and Kabuto blinked slowly at her, hardly taking her seriously. Sasuke was far to shocked to even notice her wrath.

_Crreak…_

Everyone started in shock. Sakura's anger was so strong, she could hardly control herself. The chains were slowly being torn out of the wall. She would never let _him_ walk away alive.

With a snap, the chains were torn out of the wall. Sakura flew forward with the momentum she had been creating. Every muscle still amplified by her chakra, Sakura lunged for Sasuke with her ninja quick speed.

Sasuke jerked away at the last moment, his eyes widened in alarm. At the last moment, he moved just enough to avoid the blow. Instead, Sakura slammed her fist into the wall. The wall crumbled under her blow. She twisted to the side, and surged right back towards Sasuke again.

_Sharigan._ Sasuke's eyes turned red, and he twisted away from Sakura's attack. She skidded to a halt and lurched towards him again. He slipped just slightly to the side and the other ninja's attack passed him. He grabbed he arm and twisted it behind her back, still in shock. But she refused to be beaten by him. She slammed her head back into his in a harsh head butt. A gasp of pain escaped from Sasuke and he lost his grip at the surprise of the attack. Sakura twisted around and her fist flew towards Sasuke's handsome face. Sasuke's red eyes flashed, and he barely dodged the next attack. Sakura just kept attacking, while Sasuke just only avoided the blows, only because of the sharigan, his special eye jutsu. But her diminished supply chakra was burning out quickly, and Sakura's reflexes slowed.

Kabuto wrapped his arms around Sakura in an attempt to stop her. She strained against him, too blinded by rage to use her mind to get out of this situation. She just strained with pure might against Kabuto's grip. At last she broke out of his grip and with a roar of triumphant plowed her fist towards Sasuke's face. The other ninja shoved his hands down to meet her incoming fist in an attempt to avert the majority of the blow.

SLAM!

Both of the young ninjas went skittering back towards the edges of the room. Sakura just collapsed to the ground, almost completely spent. Sasuke had managed to avoid the blunt of the blow, but he still felt the drain of his strength. This power that Sakura processed… It was impossibly strong.

Several more ninja raced into the room and all of them pinned Sakura down. She just lay on the ground and gasped for breath, her rage slowly dying.

Sasuke slipped out of the room, still in shock from what just happened. Orochimaru watched him go, and then studied Sakura for a moment. He stepped forward and kneeled down close to her so he could gaze into her fiery eyes. He simply stared at her for a while, before turning and leaving the room.

* * *

Sakura sat in a cold cell, chained again to another wall. She felt exhausted from her recent rampage; she must have used up far too much of her chakra. So much of her energy was drained…

They had knocked her out again and she had woken up her. Now, she waited. It had only been a matter of minutes since she woke up, and she had a feeling that very soon she would have more visitors.

The kunoichi's prediction wasn't far off. Only a few minutes later Kabuto entered the room, followed extremely closely by Orochimaru. He stalked up to her and looked her straight in the eye, then purred, "You have quite a bit of strength, now don't you?" A smirk lit his face. "Very impressive. That mind of yours is plenty sharp, now isn't it?"

The pinkette looked away. She didn't want to have this conversation, especially not with Orochimaru after her little outburst around Sasuke.

"I always thought you were nothing more than a pushover, but you really have grown to be strong. Your intelligence has always been one of your strong points… You must have been waiting, storing your chakra. Your capture couldn't have been an accident, Sakura. You were planning this out from the beginning. Just looking for the right moment."

Sakura sucked in a breath. How could he know? If he knew that this was all part of his mission… Then she was in big trouble.

Orochimaru grabbed her chin and forced her to look deep into his snake eyes. "I could use a clever mind that yours. Such an intellect paired with that chakra amplified strength… What do you think, sweetheart? Are you willing to join me?"

* * *

**A/N;** Here's the next chaper! Hope you liked it!

**Got Questions?**

If you're confused on anything at all in the story, feel free to ask! I don't want any confused people walking around. No matter how stupid you think the question is, ask away! After all, the only stupid question is a question not asked. (Don't forget that I have the right to not answer any questions… don't want to give away any surprises I have in the future!)

**Review, if you please!**

I'd really appreciate if you'd review. Tell me what you think I should change, any ideas you have, etc… I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Hope this chapter was a good one and that you enjoyed it!

-Cynder7777


	4. Chapter 4 A Snake's Determination

**Disclaimer;** I do not own Naruto.

* * *

**Chapter 4; A Snake's Determination**

Sakura Haruno simply stared at Orochimaru in complete shock. This was beyond impossible. Orochimaru wanted her to join him?

The dark outlaw stroked her cheek with a hand, his eyes flickering with their normal amber light. In a smooth purr, he added, "I know that such a _noble_ ninja like you would never _dream_ of betraying the Hidden Leaf Village… But think of the power I can give you, Sakura." He tucked a strand of her pink hair behind her ear and breathed, "I don't know why you attacked Sasuke like that. Last I heard you were in love with him. But with the power I can give you, next time you attack any ninja, he will be dust before your feet."

She closed her eyes, still struggling to grasp what was just happening. This opportunity was absolutely perfect for the mission. But to agree to work for this slug? How would she bring herself to do it? Her dignity would barely allow her to do it.

"Well?" the legendary sannin purred at her. He's amber eyes flashed at her. Clearly, he was waiting for an answer.

For the sake of the mission, she would do it. But it had to be realistic, or Orochimaru would suspect something. If this were for real, Sakura knew that she would need a lot of convincing. So she would have to play that card.

Lifting her head and opening her fiery eyes, Sakura growled, "I will never betray the Village Hidden in the Leaves like that!"

An arrogant smirk crossed Orochimaru's face. "I wouldn't have expected anything different from you, Sakura. But it will only be a matter of time. Oh, soon you and I will be seeing eye to eye…" With that, he turned and left the dark room. Kabuto studied her through his glasses for a moment and followed his master.

Once again, Sakura was alone in silence. She sighed. Once again, they had decided to use chakra draining chains, so Sakura felt completely beat. She felt like an empty shell, depleted of any energy.

Before too long, she had dozed off and was in a dreamless sleep. As she slept, a silent figure entered the room. He stood in the shadows for a while, his black eyes gleaming, before turning once more and exiting.

* * *

Naruto burst into the room of the Fifth Hokage and raced up to Tsunade's desk. He stopped and gasped for breath before yelling, "We did it! Sakura's been captured and we know where she is!"

Tsunade narrowed her eyes and hissed, "You don't need to be so loud! The entire village doesn't need to know about this mission!"

His blue eyes wide, Naruto gasped, "Sorry, Grandma Tsunade…"

She just shook her head. "Where are the others?"

"They're all still near the base, just camping out. I came back to tell you, and now I need to know what our next move is."

"I'll have some high ranked ninjas of ours go with you when you go back to your squad. You need to show them where Sakura is, and then you can all come back. We have more than enough missions to keep you busy," Tsunade ordered him.

"What?!" Naruto stared at her in defiant shock. "You're assigning us off this mission! Why?!"

His defiance was sparking a bit of anger in the Fifth Hokage. "Because we have a lot of missions waiting for you, Naruto. We are still short handed."

"But Sakura's in danger in Orochimaru's hands! Let me stay on this mission!"

"No, Naruto. I'll have them update you and your squad, but you are _not _going to be part of phase two of this mission."

"Come on! I won't accept no for an answer! Let me continue on this mission!" Naruto yelled at her furiously.

With just as much anger, she responded, "No! This is no way to respond towards your Hokage! You will do what I tell you, not whatever you decide!"

Fuming in fury, Naruto twisted around and snapped, "Send your chosen squad to me when you're ready for us to go." Then, he stormed out of the room, leaving an irritated Fifth Hokage behind him.

Shizune entered, holding Tonton, Tsunade's pet pig. She was the Fifth Hokage's assistant, and had been drawn in by the shouting that had been coming from the room. "What's going on, Lady Tsunade?" she questioned. "What was that all about?"

"Oh, that was just Naruto being the stubborn child he is." She sighed and rubbed her temple with a hand. "He doesn't like how I unassigned him from Sakura's mission."

Her assistant leaned down and put Tonton on the floor. The little pig ran up to her owner and leapt into her lap, oinking softly. Then, Shizune walked up to Tsunade and murmured, "Don't let him get to you. This is for the good of the mission. He'll realize this eventually."

Another sigh escaped the Fifth Hokage. "Oh, I don't doubt at all that he'll get it eventually. It just that before he does, I'm afraid he'll do something stupid that will jeopardize the operation."

"I understand…" Shizune murmured. "You're probably right. Naruto will probably do something that will put the rest of this mission at stake. We just have to try and prepare."

Tsunade nodded. "Yes. We do." She looked down at the stacks of paperwork piled on her desk. "Now, I just need to decide who to assign to this mission."

"Really? How about…"

* * *

Neji and the others crouched in the edges of the forest, watching the entrance to one of Orochimaru's hidden lairs. Hinata and Kiba had stayed back at their camp, which was a couple miles away, hidden deep a grove of trees. The others were watching, waiting for Naruto to come back from the Leaf Village so that they could find out what their next move was. All of the other ninjas were starting to get restless from hiding in the bushes for so long, but they had to make sure they knew exactly what was going on. If Sakura was in too much danger, they would bust in and get her out. But now they just had to wait in silence.

The sun slowly crawled through the sky. Tenten had found amusement with sharpening her many weapons. Lee was silently doing pushups and sit-ups. Shino was content to watch some insects crawling across the ground, and Neji just kept his gaze on the tree that hid the secret entrance to Orochimaru's hideout.

The sooner Naruto was back, the better it would be for the squad. They had been doing fine on their own, for the most part anyway, but everyone was anxious to get this mission up and running. Sakura had been captured, yes, but they still had a lot to do. It would just be good for the mission if they could share this location with the other Leaf Village shinobi. Besides, the longer they stayed here, the sooner Orochimaru's men would find them and attack them.

This was simply a game of time. The longer this took, the lower the chances of no lose were. But they couldn't do anything to speed this up. It all depended on Naruto.

* * *

Sakura woke up from her pleasant little nap. She had little to do when she was awake, so a nap to pass the hours didn't dampen her spirits in the least. She felt a little better, a little more energized. Of course, that feeling would be short lived. Any of the chakra that she could have saved in her sleep she would lose to the chains eventually.

She stared off into the shadows, lost in thought. Because of this, she didn't notice Sasuke's entrance until he spoke.

"Sakura."

Her green eyes snapped into focus on his handsome face. Instantly, the hatred and fury built up in her and she glowered at him.

Sasuke's unreadable black eyes stayed the same, even at her reaction. He stared at her fiercely for a moment, and then began to speak again. "Sakura, I don't know what that was about. The way you attacked me…"

She said nothing, only continuing to glare at him.

"Sakura, I'm not an idiot. I know what hate is like first-hand. I have more than enough of that to recognize it in others… And you are burning with hate for me."

It was true. Sasuke hadn't been a fool. He knew what was going on in her head. He was reading her like an open book. Yet she still said nothing.

The rogue ninja walked up towards her, stopping a few inches away from her face. He narrowed his eyes and stared directly into her burning eyes. "Sakura, I don't know what has gotten into you. You hate me now, and I don't know why. But I really don't care. I'm warning you Sakura. Do not mess with me. I will destroy you."

The kunoichi curled her lip in dark anger, but said nothing to him still. With a sigh of exasperation, Sasuke turned and walked away.

Once she was sure he was gone, Sakura lifted her head again. She had to admit, Ino had a good reason to be in love with him. He could easily be the dream of any girl. His handsome face, muscular body and arms, and cool attitude made him the crush of half the Leaf Village's shinobi of the same age. But his actions meant more to Sakura than his striking form. He had thoughtlessly tried to kill her far too many times.

Closing her eyes, Sakura leaned up against the wall and sighed. He held a legitimate threat, and Sakura didn't doubt for a second that he would carry through on it. But she wouldn't dwell on it. All it would do is put her in a nasty mood. She just had to release those thoughts.

Sasuke Uchiha would not get to her.

* * *

After a while, a ninja came in and fed Sakura. It wasn't the best food she had ever tasted, but it still was excellent, considering she was completely famished. But they didn't let her stretch her legs at all. In fact, he just fed her as she was chained to the wall.

Sakura slept soundly all night, and awoke again in the morning. Kabuto was standing in front of her.

"You're awake now, Sakura?" The ninja smirked at her, his glasses gleaming in the light.

With a sigh, Sakura murmured, "Now what do you want?"

"Orochimaru sent for you, that's all." Kabuto approached her and leaned over to wear the chains attached to the wall. He carefully unlocked the chains that held Sakura. She felt the pressure loosening until they held her no more and she fell to the ground. Slowly, she pushed herself up to her knees and turned and glared at Kabuto.

He leaned down and grabbed her arm to pull her to her feet. The kunoichi pulled herself away from him, and staggered slightly. After all, she hadn't really used her legs in several days, and it took her a minute to adjust to standing again.

"Come along." Kabuto turned and started to leave. Narrowing her eyes in annoyance, Sakura staggered after him.

As Sakura entered the hallway, two Sound ninja came up behind her. She glanced back, trying to ignore the guards that kept her moving along. With Kabuto in front and the security in back, Sakura had no choice but to continue along.

The long passageway snaked through the earth as they continued along. Sakura studied the pathway, her eyes, the torches lighting the hall slightly, although it mostly just casted long shadows. They continued on at a brisk pace.

Soon, they emerged in a good sized cave. Large shadows dappled the floor. In the darkness, a pair of amber eyes gleamed. And next to them, a pair of red eyes.

Sakura tensed at the sight. As her eyes adjusted to the lack of light, she could make out some sort of chair where Orochimaru was sitting. Next to him stood Sasuke. This time, he was wearing a long sleeved white shirt and dark blue pants. He had on black armbands that covered his forearms. His sharigan eyes were gleaming in the shadows.

"Sakura, come on in," he hissed at her. Sakura silently approached him and blinked slowly. She avoided looking at Sasuke, even though his eyes were fixed firmly on her.

"What do you want? I already said no."

The legendary sannin laughed. "Oh, you are a persistent one. Almost as persistent as I am." He stood up and walked over towards her. Sakura said nothing, just rolling her eyes and shifting to a more comfortable position.

Kabuto stepped to the side, although the other Sound ninjas stayed put behind Sakura. Orochimaru circled her and murmured in her ear, "Surely you realize what use my power would be to you."

"I'm not interested. That would require betraying the Leaf Village."

"Oh, Sakura. Still loyal to them? I bet they've already forgotten about you. Surely if they cared they would have found you by now?"

Sakura lowered her gaze. If being captured wasn't her mission, this might have struck home. It could have been true, except the plan was to not save Sakura. It was to use her from the inside.

Everyone noted her hesitation, and Orochimaru decided to worm his way in through this kink in her armor. "My ninja haven't even reported the slightest sign of any of them. If a single Leaf shinobi was within ten miles of here, I would know."

Sakura's eyes widened. How could this be? They were supposed to be following her, keeping an eye open to save her. Surely this would mean that they were in the area! Even the Leaf Village ninja weren't good enough to go undetected for so long… Could it be true? Where they really waiting for her or not?

"Don't be naïve, Sakura. They're not real allies. Surely if they were a rescue mission would have come by now? Or at least a ninja or two to come and look."

The young kunoichi squeezed her eyes shut. No. Naruto and the others would never abandon her like that. He was here, she just knew it. He was keeping an eye open for her like he has always done. But still… A squad of such size couldn't go unnoticed for so long…

"Come along, Sakura. You know that joining me is your best option. Don't be so foolish. Just join me."

Sakura opened her eyes and looked at him, then murmured, "No. I have not given up hope on my village. They will come. They will find me." She shook her head at him, then looked away once more.

A soft chuckle escaped Orochimaru. He blinked at Sakura and purred, "Still haven't convinced you? Perhaps you need some time to reflect on these… Truths." He gestured toward the two guards behind her. "Take her back. She isn't ready yet."

The two men grabbed her arms and led her away. Orochimaru gazed after her with his smug eyes before returning to his seat. Sasuke stayed completely silent, his unwavering gaze fixed firmly on Sakura's back as she was escorted off.

* * *

They brought Sakura to a different place this time. It was a small jail cell, hardly much to be excited about. Except this time they didn't chain Sakura to the wall. Instead, she was attached to the wall by a single chain on her ankle. She could move about a foot from the wall, but that was all. She could just reach the bars of the end of the cell.

Sakura positioned herself so that she leaned up against the wall and just stood there in silence.

It didn't take long for what she expected to happen. Sasuke soon came in and stood in the doorway, his black eyes unreadable as ever.

This time, Sakura decided to speak to him. "You," She snarled.

The tall ninja narrowed his gaze at her. "Orochimaru doesn't know you like I use to. And I know that you would never betray the Leaf Village." He stepped forward stopped right in front of the bars. "What sort of game do you think you're playing, Sakura?"

She shot him a look of pure hatred. "Like I'd tell a traitor like you."

"Sakura, what are you even doing here? I know that you are far too wise to get captured by accident. Something greater is going on."

She defiantly stared at him but said nothing still.

"Don't play games with Orochimaru. You will only get burned, Sakura. Whatever you are doing, stop. It will only make things worse for you than they already are." He turned his back to her and snapped, "Besides, you'll only get in my way."

As he turned to leave, Sakura hissed, "I would _never _want to get in your way, you little rat."

Sasuke froze. "_What _did you call me?!"

"I only called you what you really are. Nothing but a rogue."

Sakura could feel the chill in the air from Sasuke's rage. "Don't mess with me."

"What are you going to do, without your master to hold your hand for you?" The kunoichi could tell she was treading on dangerous ground, but she didn't care. The only thing she felt was her all consuming hatred for the ninja in front of her.

Exhaling sharply, Sasuke swung around in anger. His eyes flashed red. "You've gone too far, Sakura! I don't care if Orochimaru gives me permission. I will destroy you!"

White electricity started to flicker in his hand. Sakura's eyes widened when she realized what this was. Sasuke really must have been mad. He was using his Chidori.

The soft chirping sound from his attack filled the air. It was this sound that gave the Chidori its name. After all, Chidori meant 'One Thousand Birds.' The orb of electricity was growing larger and larger. Sasuke's eyes flashed with fury as he glared at her. This attack was known as an assassin attack because of its speed and damage it inflicts. If Sasuke was really going to use this technique… He was trying to kill her!

His chakra was so strong, Sakura could see in glowing in his palm. He took a couple steps forward until his face was inches from the bars. But Sakura didn't back away. She stepped forward until she was only a few inches from the bars as well. The bright light from the Chidori gleamed on both of the ninjas faces as they glared at each other, until Sasuke lifted his hand with the Chidori.

"I warned you not to mess with me. I don't care what Orochimaru thinks. I've had enough of a pathetic, annoying loser like you. You had some nerve, Sakura. I don't know what I did to you that has made you hate me so much. But nobody insults me like that and gets away with it." Sasuke lifted his arm and pulled it back. Chirping loudly, the Chidori shimmered with its voltage.

Sasuke closed his eyes, and snapped them open again. He said nothing to Sakura. All he did was plunge his arm forward.

* * *

**A/N;** Here ya go! Another chapter! Hope you enjoy it... Man, I got a nack for trying to kill Sakura. Second time in the first four chapters that I leave off like that... Hm. Gotta love those cliffies!

**Got Questions?**

If you're confused on anything at all in the story, feel free to ask! I don't want any confused people walking around. No matter how stupid you think the question is, ask away! After all, the only stupid question is a question not asked. (Don't forget that I have the right to not answer any questions… don't want to give away any surprises I have in the future!)

**Review, if you please!**

I'd really appreciate if you'd review. Tell me what you think I should change, any ideas you have, etc… I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Enjoy! Have an excellent day!

-Cynder7777


	5. Chapter 5 Lightning Strikes

**Disclaimer; **Don't own Naruto. Just this story about it... Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 5; Lightning Strikes**

There was no point in trying to avoid the attack. Sakura knew that Sasuke had his sharigan going right now. He could read even the slightest movement and tell exactly what any opponent was planning on doing. Nothing Sakura could do would help her evade this attack. There was no point.

Sasuke's red eyes fixed firmly on her blank face as his arm swung towards the kunoichi. She stood unwavering, prepared to take the full blunt of the blow. She knew the true power of this jutsu… She had little hopes of surviving the blow.

"Sasuke! What are you doing?!"

The voice distracted Sasuke enough that in his haste to glance back and see who it was that was yelling at him, he miscalculated and his blow surged just a hair to the right. Instead of impaling Sakura, Sasuke ended up crashing into the wall. Rocks crumbled under the power of the Chidori. Sasuke turned and stared at the doorway with his wild eyes.

Kabuto stood in the entrance of the cavern, his onyx eyes flashing in shock and a touch of rage. "What the heck are you doing?! You almost killed her!"

Scowling at him, Sasuke exited the cell without a second glance at Sakura. He shouldered his way past Kabuto without a sound and disappeared in the hallway. Sakura stared after him, infuriated by his inferior attitude.

The ninja ran up to Sakura. "Are you ok? Sasuke almost killed you!" He glanced over her. "You don't appear to be hurt… What was that about?! Why did he attack you?!"

Sakura looked away. She refused to say anything. This was of no concern to this medical ninja. She ignored Kabuto and just stared after Sasuke.

A sigh rattled in Kabuto's chest. "Oh, dear. This will be of great concern of Orochimaru…" With that, he turned and raced out of the room. Sakura stood there, blinking after him. Even in the chaos of Sasuke's attack, Sakura's chain had stayed in place. So much for an escape attempt…

After a while, several Sound ninja raced into the room. They took Sakura and led her to another room, but she had no visits to or from Orochimaru.

* * *

Sasuke stormed through the halls, smothering on the inside. The fact that Sakura had the nerve to say something like that to him… He could hardly believe her stupidity.

Several Sound ninja tried to approach him in the halls, but his icy glares scared them off. He just continued to travel the halls. He had no destination of any sort, just wandering. It wouldn't be long until Orochimaru called for him. After all, it wouldn't take long for word to reach him about what had just happened. But Sasuke couldn't care less. Sakura's infuriated words only put him in a terrible mood, and he felt like he had no reason to hide his anger.

Before long, three Sound ninjas approached him. He tried to shoulder his way past them, but they stood firm and just glared at him. "You need to come with us." They're cold gaze met his.

"Oh, shut up. I'm not interested in going to see Orochimaru. Get the heck out of my way."

They all refused to move. "Uchiha, this is not a choice. Orochimaru desires to see you, and you are not going to resist." One of them put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't try and resist."

His onyx eyes narrowed dangerously. "Fine." He hissed.

The three squad team led Sasuke back the way he came. They eventually arrived back in Orochimaru's room, where he sat in his chair and watched with narrow amber eyes. Sasuke was herded in and stood in the center of the room. They both stared at each other for a while and said nothing.

Finally, Orochimaru spoke. "Sasuke, you are not allowed to run off and do whatever you want. There is a reason I had Kabuto make an effort to capture Sakura. She is of great interest to me and you know that. But you still tried to kill her."

Sasuke said nothing, his eyes unreadable and dark.

A sigh escaped Orochimaru. "I don't get what is going on between you and her. I can tell she hates you, but I have no idea what the details are. But this gives you no excuse to attack her and attempt to kill her."

Snapping his eyes shut, Sasuke snarled, "She deserved what I gave her. I have nothing to say."

"You do not have free reign here, Sasuke. I am still your master." His amber eyes flashed.

Sasuke stayed true to his word and didn't respond.

Another sigh. "I am not going to punish you, not now. But if you keep on messing with Sakura, I will. I gave you power for far more than just this." Orochimaru closed his eyes and growled, "Go. I do not feel like dealing with you now."

Sasuke was gone hardly before the permission had escaped his master's mouth. Orochimaru exhale noisily. Shaking his head slightly, the sannin blinked softly. Nothing he really did helped tame Sasuke. He was ambitious and didn't like to take orders from anyone. This mess between Sakura and Sasuke was far from over.

* * *

Sakura sat in silence in her new cell. This time, she wasn't chained to a wall, but the cell was as small as last time. She could pace in a small circle if she wanted, but the kunoichi wasn't back to her full strength yet. It would be better if she rested for a while longer.

Footsteps approached from down the hall. It wouldn't surprise her if it was Kabuto who was coming to fetch her or any other Sound ninja who was doing the same. After all, Orochimaru no doubt knew about what had happened between her and Sasuke. He might want to ask her what really happened.

But it wasn't someone who had come to pay Sakura a visit. Whoever it was didn't even think that she was worth as enough trouble to come in. They must have been out in the hall for some other reason, then.

Closing her eyes again, Sakura let out a sigh. This mission just stunk. She was captured, away from the comforts of the Leaf Village. Orochimaru was pressuring her into joining him. Even worse, the one she hated the most had tried to kill her… Again.

This mission was, as Shikamaru would say, a drag. What fun this was… _Sigh_.

Her eyes opened and Sakura examined the room. The walls were dirty rock, carved roughly into a bowl shaped room. There were several openings, each leading to small cells blocked off by steel bars. A few torches lit the side of the main branch, but in the cells all they achieved was casting long shadows in the already dim area. These were nothing more than holding cubical.

Sakura stood up and leaned her head up against the cool bars. The longer she waited, the more impatient she grew. Nothing about this was improving her mood.

She had no clue what time it might be, but she could feel in her muscles that it had to be night. Despite doing almost nothing all day, she still felt heavy fatigue. Her muscles slumped, and Sakura crumbled to the ground; she was fast asleep.

* * *

Outside of the Sound ninja base, things were heating up. The others had to retreat back from their position due to Sound ninja attacks on their makeshift base. They had been spotted for sure, and it was all they could do to stay in the region while avoiding more ambushes. The sooner they could just show the reinforcements where Sakura was, the sooner they could get out of here. But they still were waiting.

Neji, Tenten, and Lee had gone off to try and distract any Sound ninja in the area, which allowed Shino, Hinata and Kiba to keep watch near the base. Crouching tense and nervous, those three ninja watched from the bushes for any sign of the enemy. They were only a little ways from the Sound ninja base, which would make it quick and efficient for them to show the reinforcements… If and when they came. But for now, Squad 8 was in hiding.

A soft growl came from Akamaru, announced the arrival of a passing patrol. The three enemies on this patrol either weren't very observant or weren't looking too hard because they didn't even notice the slightest hint of the hiding ninjas. All three watched quietly until the guards left.

Hinata closed her eyes for a second, her long, dark blue hair falling into her face. "Byakugan," she whispered, which activated her kekkei genkai. The veins around her eyes bulged out slightly, which enhanced her vision capabilities. She scanned the nearby area, her Byakugan allowing her to notice any living creatures of a certain size. But other than the retreating patrol, no other humans were within her sight.

Kiba shot her a hopeful glance, but she just shook her head. He looked away, fighting the urge to sigh. He scratched Akamaru's head gently while the dog sniffed the air tentatively. He looked at his master with gleaming black eyes. They smelled nothing.

Shino watched the two scan the area, his eyes hidden as always. No sign of an enemy patrol or their back up either. They still had to wait.

As they waited in stillness, the squad studied the surround forest. A few birds dotted the sky, landed on branches or swooping through the leaves. Shino was easily able to identify a myriad of insects crawling along the ground. A few squirrels even felt it was safe enough to come out and scavenge for food.

The waiting was growing tedious, but still the three lingered. They had to. It was their mission, their part of the plan. Hopefully the others would be able to do theirs.

* * *

_Gentle fist!_ Neji shoved his open palm into the attacker's stomach, hitting one of the main chakra points. With a gasp, the attacking Sound ninja crumbled to the ground. _Byakugan_. With the same kekkei genkai as Hinata, Neji scanned the area carefully. He could see multiple advancing enemies, not including the ones that Rock Lee and Tenten were busy finishing off. These battles weren't necessarily… Challenging, they were just draining. Especially with so many enemy ninjas… It would only be a matter of time until they couldn't keep on delay the tide.

Tenten turned away from the enemy she had just knocked out and raced towards Neji. "How many more," she panted, a kunai in hand.

"More than we want," the ninja responded. The kunoichi's brown eyes gleamed as she nodded at her comrade, and then gestured to Lee. He had just planted his fist in his opponent's cheek and stopped, his black eyes fixed on the opponent. With eyes rolling into his head, the ninja crumbled to the ground, leaving Lee to stand triumphant over him. The ninja smiled to himself and raced over to join his comrades.

"The next wave is here," Neji hissed. The other two beside him tensed, prepared to meet the next group of attackers.

Four more Sound ninjas leaped out of the bushes with a battle cry. A grim smile lit the Leaf Village Shinobi's faces as they leapt back into battle.

Tenten sent a couple kunai soaring towards the incoming attackers. Lee raced up with his extreme speed and landed a powerful kick right in one of their chests. Neji used several gentle fist attacks, each striking a vital chakra point. The four enemies were soon out of the fight, but it didn't take long for them to be replaced by even more enemy ninja.

The three ninjas fought dangerously and tirelessly, but too many kept coming. They fought and fought, grim but refusing to give up.

As the battle continued, the Leaf Village ninjas grew tired. They kept moving constantly, trying to keep all of the Sound ninja from finding the others. The longer they lasted… The longer Kiba, Hinata, and Shino would be able to wait.

But the tide of Sound ninja just kept on coming. Despite how many enemies fell, there were more to come and replace them. It wasn't that there were an extreme number of enemies. It was just that it came to the point that they were fighting more than they could handle, especially because the drain on their strength.

Lee stumbled while trying to perform a roundhouse kick. Tenten threw one of her last weapons. Neji was running low on chakra from each of his gentle fist attacks. They were spent.

The three Leaf shinobi tried to take off to find a better location to fight, away from all the enemies, but the Sound had caught onto their pattern. With a clever sneer, all of the Sound ninjas drove the squad back, until they were pressed back to back in the center of the clearing.

One of the Sound ninja spoke up. "I don't know what Leaf Shinobi think they are doing here, but I hope you weren't planning on just leaving. Oh, no. We can't let enemies waltz away like that. I think that you've fought long enough. Time to rest… In the afterlife!"

At that exact moment, all the ninjas hurled three or four kunai each. Neji said, "Get close to me!" The other ninja raced next to his side, realizing what he was going to do.

_Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven!_ Neji instantly starting spinning at a rapid speed. A blue shield of chakra surrounded the three Leaf Village shinobi and every weapon was tossed aside, plus any nearby enemies. Once the danger had passed, he landed, drained from his attack. He had fended off one attack, but that wasn't really going to be an option for the next. Neji Hyuga just didn't have enough chakra to do again.

Tenten and Lee had worked with Neji before, as they were a squad. They were fully aware that his defense was only a onetime thing. They had nothing more they could do.

This time, the Sound ninja pulled out an array of weapons; some swords, some kunai, some shuriken. They all aimed once again at the cornered ninja.

They was nothing that Rock Lee, Neji, or Tenten could do. They just stood bravely as they waited for their fates.

"Rasengan!"

An orange figure flashed right in the center of the group of ninjas, and once it impacted the ground, huge clouds of rolling out of the impact point. In the confusion and chaos, the Sound ninja were unable to do anything but cover their eyes and crouch down.

The dust clouds cleared, only to reveal three missing Leaf shinobi. Growling at himself in anger and frustration, one of the Sound ninja, the apparent leader, scanned the area quickly. But they were gone.

* * *

The four Leaf ninjas stopped and landed a ways off in the trees. Naruto turned and smirked at the others. "Came just in time, didn't I?"

It was true. Naruto had turned up at the last moment, and using his rasengan, distracted the Sound ninja long enough for the others to escape. Now, Naruto had led Neji, Tenten, and Lee to the other ninja of his patrol.

"Took your time, didn't you?" Neji muttered back at him.

"Oh, whatever." Tenten just shook her head. "It doesn't matter." She looked at the other ninja of the patrol. "Not very many with you, huh Naruto?"

Shrugging, the shinobi answered, "Grandma Tsunade sent me with them. What was I suppose to do? Run off and complain because these were the only ones available?"

Lee lifted a fist and crowed, "Let us continue on to glory, no matter the size of our patrol!"

One of the Leaf shinobi blinked at him. "Let's just go. We need to find the location before the rest of the Sound ninja catch up."

Neji nodded. "Follow me," he stated, and then took off towards where Kiba, Shino, and Hinata were keeping watch.

A little while later, the ninjas grew near towards were the others were keeping watch. Tenten took off alone to get the others. They came back and with great happiness, were able to show the Leaf shinobi where the base was and at long last, leave for home.

But all Naruto really wished for was to stay and be involved with whatever mess Sakura was in.

* * *

Sakura had been summoned once again. Orochimaru really must have made her his project, considering how much effort he was putting into this. And there was a good chance that it would have something to do with Sasuke. Just what she wanted.

A sigh rattled in Sakura's chest as she was led once again through the narrow corridors. They entered the same room that Orochimaru lurked in before. He was sitting in his chair, amber eyes flashing. This time, Sasuke was nowhere to be found. Kabuto leaned up against the wall and watched as well.

As the kunoichi came to a stop, Orochimaru spoke up once again. "I think I've given you more than enough time to think about my offer." The snake-eyed sannin narrowed his eyes dangerously. "I want an answer. And you know which one."

Biting her lip, Sakura allowed her green gaze to fall on the ground. She knew exactly what he was demanding of her, but she really did not want to give it to him. It was one of the last things she wished to do… But it would be necessary.

In her silence, Orochimaru made the split second decision to pounce again. He stood up and started circling her again, his eyes fixed firmly on her face. "Sakura, how much longer will it take you to realize the truth? They've abandoned you to my mercy. Not even willing to send a party out to save you. Since Naruto ran off during your first battle to 'get help,' there hasn't been a single sign of a Leaf shinobi. Give it up. They don't care."

Blinking slowly, Sakura met the sharp gaze of the sannin. He knew about Naruto… But that shouldn't have surprised her. After all, the first ninjas she fought had probably reported it… But it couldn't be true about how there weren't any signs of the Leaf Village… Right?

"I know that you know it's true… Wake up. Enough of this foolishness. Your only choice right now is to trust me."

"That will never happen," Sakura murmured, but it was more to herself than to Orochimaru.

Despite her last comment, Orochimaru continued in his seductive purr. "Oh, don't be such a fool. Don't you realize? This is your best-your only-option. After all, you'd hate for something to… Happen."

Sakura froze when she realized exactly what he was implying. "I… I…" she stammered.

"Well? I want an answer. Now."

"I…" Sakura closed her eyes for a moment. At last, her emerald gaze returned to Orochimaru. "Fine. I'll… I'll do it."

"Oh? What's this now?" A cruel smirk appeared on his face. "We can't hear you when you're mumbling, dear. You'll do what exactly?"

With an outraged glare, she hissed, "I'll do it! Alright? I join you!"

* * *

**A/N; **I've gotten a little behind with updating... I actually am on chapter 7 right now, I just forgot to post this one... Oops. Sorry!

**Got Questions?**

If you're confused on anything at all in the story, feel free to ask! I don't want any confused people walking around. No matter how stupid you think the question is, ask away! After all, the only stupid question is a question not asked. (Don't forget that I have the right to not answer any questions… don't want to give away any surprises I have in the future!)

**Review, if you please!**

I'd really appreciate if you'd review. Tell me what you think I should change, any ideas you have, etc… I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Hope you loved it! Have an excellent day!

-Cynder7777


	6. Chapter 6 First Chance

**Disclaimer; **I don't own Naruto no matter how much I want to.

* * *

**Chapter 6; First Chance**

"Perfect." Orochimaru turned and returned to his seat. "Kabuto, find her a place to stay for the time being. We have… Things… To discuss."

Sakura hesitated, but she turned and followed Kabuto. He led her through the many halls of the underground base. He turned at last into a small branch which led to a cozy little room. It was simple but small. No bars, no chains. Just a plain room.

"Sakura, stay here." Kabuto turned and disappeared back down the hallway, leaving Sakura alone. She waited until she was sure he was gone, then collapsed up against the wall. She gave a bone rattling sigh. Well, now she was one of Orochimaru's henchmen. She was alone in the lion's den and had been forced to join the ranks. This really stunk.

All Sakura had to do was to wait for her new master's call.

* * *

"What?! She did _what_?!" Sasuke exploded.

The young kunoichi across from him shrugged, her brown bangs covering one of her brilliant green eyes. "I told you the truth. Sakura Haruno agreed to join Orochimaru." She leaned up against the wall once again and gazed at him through narrow eyes.

_What the heck is she doing?!_ Sasuke fumed inwardly. "Sakura would never do that! Moekasu, who told you this?" he asked her.

Moekasu rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Kabuto. He told me while he was checking on my arm." She rubbed her upper arm, were it was bandaged. With a toss of her head, the kunoichi sent her spiky, mid-waist length brown hair swinging. "I don't know her close to as much as you do; I don't even know her at all. All I do know is she joined the ranks of the Sound."

Sasuke's eyes flashed red for a second before returning to his normal black. "No. Sakura would not do this! She is completely repulsed by the thought of betraying the Leaf Village," he hissed angrily.

The girl narrowed her eyes and growled dangerously, "Don't get worked up at me! I'm just telling you what I know. No need to bite my head off!" She curled her lip to reveal teeth that were almost sharp enough to be considered fangs.

The two just glared at each other for a moment, looking as if they could tear out each other's throats, until Moekasu relaxed a little and her gaze dropped to the floor. She knew the hard way that if he got really mad at her, she would be feeling it for weeks, if she even survived. She had known him for quite some time, especially since she had joined the Sound Village not very long after he had. They had become neutral friends and had mutual respect for one another, although the kunoichi knew she would be completely destroyed in battle by him. At this rate, she'd get to spend the next couple weeks in the hospital. Her temper had gotten her there before… "She joined. That's all I really know," the young girl spat.

"She would not do this! What is she playing at…?" Sasuke grumbled to himself.

"You want more details, then ask Kabuto, or better yet, Orochimaru. They can straighten you out."

"I need to talk to Sakura."

The kunoichi pushed herself off the wall and cut him off. "Oh, no. Orochimaru told you to stay out of this. Leave her alone. Last time you tried to kill her."

Sasuke glared at her for a second, but she just stared back at him, not in a provocative way, just a defiant way. "Go talk to Orochimaru. But stay away from her, at least for now," she growled. Despite the fact she was about a head shorter than he was, something about her made her seem dangerous and fiery. He glared at her venomously, but closed his onyx eyes. All she was trying to do was to keep Sasuke out of huge trouble, and he knew that.

"Fine. You're right." Without another word, Sasuke disappeared down the hall to find Orochimaru.

* * *

"It's a simple mission, Sakura, but it's only your first. We don't want to… Overdo it." The gleaming amber eyes of Orochimaru flashed as he purred the words.

Sakura's eyes flashed to him as she nodded briefly before returning her sharp gaze to Sasuke. He was standing in the shadows behind her, not even trying to hide the suspicion in his onyx eyes. A sigh rattled in his chest as he noticed their hostile stares.

Sasuke had come storming in as usual a while early and demanded to know exactly what was going on, which wasn't in the least unlike him. Orochimaru had simple told him that Sakura had joined them. He didn't answer any more questions of Sasuke's. But he did agree to allow the Uchiha to watch as he told Sakura her first mission.

Now, the two of them were too busy glaring at each other to really pay attention to him. Maybe allowing Sasuke to watch wasn't the best idea…

"Your first mission is pretty straightforward. I just want you to… Run an errand for me."

Now Sakura's full attention was on Orochimaru. "An errand?!"

"Yes." He blinked slowly. "An errand."

This was stupid. Her first mission… nothing but an errand? This made no sense… Why would Orochimaru make such a big deal about getting her to join him, only to have her run him an errand?

"Your job is this; you must go to one of my bases, located in the Land of Water. It's a small island that serves as one of my many labs. I have been expecting an… Update from them about their progress. I just need you to go and pick that up to bring it to me."

"Go and pick something up? What am I, your slave?"

Orochimaru smirked at her, revealing his sharp teeth. "This mission is a simple one, which will be good for your first. It'll help give you the lay of the land, so you know what sort of things I am expecting from you. If all goes well, then it'll only be a matter of time until I give you something more fitting of your skill level." He didn't respond to her question, which sent a jolt of alarm through the kunoichi's system.

Sakura shot a glance at Sasuke. He was watching her silently; even his eyes said nothing. But Sakura could guess what he was thinking. She knew that didn't trust her. He was onto her… Her and her mission.

"I've already selected a suitable partner for you on this mission."

Partner? Well, clearly Orochimaru didn't trust her. At least, not yet. She shot Sasuke another glare. He wouldn't be as foolish as to assign her to _him_, would he?

A dark laugh escaped the sannin. "Of course not him. Give me a little credit, Sakura. I'll have Kabuto take you to the entrance, where your partner awaits you. Go on." With that, the snake-eyed ninja closed his eyes.

Kabuto emerged from the shadows and started down the passage. With a shallow sigh, Sakura followed.

It didn't take long to arrive at the entrance of the secret underground base. They were close enough to the surface that Sakura could almost taste the fresh air. She hadn't been outside in who knows how long. But she wouldn't get the chance to race back home to the comfort of her village. Instead, she would get to run an errand for her new master.

A tall, sturdy Sound ninja waited for them. He had crisp blue eyes and black hair, but nothing extremely special stood out about him. He wore simple clothing, with black shirt and pants. His Sound headband was across his forehead, a flash of silver against his shadowy outfit. Sakura would guess him to be in his 30s, and he seemed to be tough and strong.

"Glad you could finally join us," the ninja grunted. "Guess we'll be working together for a while now."

Sakura nodded, her pink hair swinging in her face. "For the time being, yes, we will work together."

Kabuto stepped between them and pulled out a map of the world. "This is where we are…" he murmured, and pointed to the center of the map. "Over here is the place you need to go to." He gestured to the right lower side. "It's going to be a long journey, but if all goes well you'll be back soon. Any questions?"

Both of the ninjas shook their heads no.

"Alright then. You'll be in charge. Make sure this all works out well." The silver haired ninja nodded to the man. "Good luck, and make haste." He turned to the pink haired girl. "Sakura, this will be your first time out as an outlaw. You need to remember that at all costs you must avoid other ninjas. It won't be easy, but don't associate with anyone else."

"Ok," Sakura murmured. "I think I can do that."

With a nod, the ninja stepped back and nodded to them.

The sturdy man gazed at the young woman. "Let's go," he grunted bluntly. The two ninjas left the damp underground behind and entered the crisp, early afternoon air. With a final glance between them, the two dashed off towards their destination; the Land of Water.

They didn't notice the figure standing in the shadows nearby, watching them, his sharigan flashing. _I don't know what trick you may be playing, Sakura. But whatever it is, give it up. You'll only make this worse on yourself. Orochimaru is not someone you want to toy with. Or you may find yourself the one who's being played._

* * *

_A couple of weeks later…_

They two ninja were on the brink of the last stretch of the journey back to the Sound base. It would be maybe half a day's travel ahead of them. The other ninja, whose name turned out to be Masao, had a scroll which conveyed the message for Orochimaru. Their journey hadn't been all too difficult; they only ran into one other ninja patrol, which didn't take too long to defeat. Otherwise, they had smooth sailing, so to speak. Now, on the last leg of their journey, Sakura was ready to try and contact the Leaf Village shinobi. She had useful information about where in the Land of Water the lab was. With this information, the Village Hidden in the Leaves could find more out even more about the notorious villain.

The best way to do this would be leave some sort of map or something for the Leaf shinobi who were following her trail.

She signaled to Masao to slow down. Both ninja came to an abrupt halt.

"Sakura? What is it?"

"Can we stop for a bit? I need to find more water for my water skin, and we could both use a bite to eat…" Her green eyes gleamed in the faint light that leaked through the leaves.

A sigh rattled through his chest. "And I thought that a young one like you would be bounding with energy… Alright. Go ahead and look for a stream or something. I'll prepare us something to eat."

Sakura nodded, then disappeared through the trees. She raced lightly through the forest until she came to a stream maybe 5 minutes from Masao. After scanning the area quickly, she knelt down next to the brook and dipped her almost empty water skin in the liquid. It didn't take long for it to fill with icy water. Once it was done, she put the cap back on and set it next to her. After taking a nervous breath, the kunoichi grabbed her backpack and started to rummage through it.

She emerged with a paper map and a bit of ink. Using her finger, she circled an island off the coast of the Land of Water. On this island they found the lab. When the Leaf shinobi look here, they can find this and use it to locate the laboratory. Sakura tucked the map under a rock, leaving it so the edge stuck out just a bit. Then, she cautiously stood up and worked her way back towards where her partner was preparing a bit of food.

He finished and tossed her the small snack. They both ate quickly in silence, then went straight back to the road. In a little while, they'd be arriving back at the Sound base. Only a little longer to wait.

* * *

"She's supposed to be back any day now," Kabuto purred from the sidelines of the large cavern.

He received a dark glare from Sasuke, who was in the middle of a training session with Orochimaru. "Like I care," he snarled, before concentrating his sharigan back on his master.

"Oh, I know it matters to you, Sasuke. You've shown a relative interest in Sakura since she first got here, although it's clear she'd rather just kill you."

The sharigan flashed back to the silver haired ninja. "Watch it," he growled.

Kabuto fell silent. He was fully aware of what danger he would be in if Sasuke turned his full rage on him. It wasn't an ideal situation…

"Perhaps it would be best if you left, Kabuto. We both know that while Sasuke's training he can be rather… Irritable." Orochimaru smirked at him from where he stood across from Sasuke. "Let's try that jutsu again, Sasuke."

The Uchiha narrowed his eyes in concentration. With a sigh, Kabuto turned and exited the room, leaving the two alone to train.

* * *

The two ninjas stopped right in front of the secret base. They both crouched in front of the hidden doorway and glanced at each other.

"Well," Masao muttered, "We're back." He straightened up and gazed firmly at the door. "Let's go. I need to get this scroll to Orochimaru."

"Right." Sakura nodded at him, then they both entered back into the maze of dark corridors.

Masao took the lead and led them through the eternal twilight. Nobody else was nearby; not a sound came from the many passageways. Only a handful of ninjas must still be in this hideout. It must have been time to switch once again.

It didn't take long to emerge in the room which Orochimaru usually lurked, but he wasn't there. It was silent.

Masao stepped out and glance around the room. "Doesn't look like Orochimaru's here. He must have ended up switching hideouts already. After all, he's been here for a while… He moves constantly. Just to play it safe."

Glancing around, Sakura nodded in agreement. "Looks that way."

"Well, well. Look whose back already."

Both ninjas turned around and caught sight of the silver haired medical ninja.

"Actually, Orochimaru is still here. He was planning on leaving in the morning. But since you're here, you might as well deliver it to him in person." Kabuto smirked, his glasses gleaming in the light. "But we'll have to wait… We don't want to… Cause any problems right now."

"Problems?" Sakura blinked slowly at Kabuto.

He let out a pained smile. "You'll find out later." He leaned up against the wall and closed his black eyes. Sakura watched him for a moment before she let out a relaxed sigh. All three people waited silently for Orochimaru to return.

They had to wait quite a while until he came. Lurking on the edge of the room, Orochimaru purred, "Back already? And I was just starting to miss you. I trust you have something for me?"

Masao nodded and stepped forward. He reached out with the scroll flat on his palm. A dark smile lit Orochimaru's face and he snaked out his tongue. It wrapped around the scroll and brought it back to his hand. The sannin unrolled the scroll and scanned it quickly. After a moment of reading, he closed the scroll and turned his smug gaze back to the two ninjas in front of him.

"Well?" Masao asked calmly. "Good news, I presume."

He smirked but did not answer his question. "Nice job, Masao. You may go."

The blue eyed ninja dipped his head and shouldered his way past Orochimaru before disappearing into the tunnels. Sakura turned to try and follow.

"I never said you could go, Sakura."

The pinkette froze.

"You didn't think that you could just leave, did you?" Orochimaru's amber eyes flashed to the kunoichi.

She closed her eyes and reopened them again. Her emerald gaze fell on the floor as she murmured, "What do you want?"

"I have another mission for you."

_Already? That was fast…_ She thought to herself. _I've hardly been back an hour…_

The sannin licked his lips with that long, eerie tongue of his. "But you won't carry it out quite yet. In the morning the other ninja who I've chosen to go with you should be back. I'll give you more details in the morning." He turned and disappeared down the path.

Kabuto sighed with a smile. "I suppose I should lead you to a room for the night." He turned and followed Orochimaru. Sakura trailed him down the tunnel.

They weaved through the branching tunnels, most cast in darkness. As they walked, Sakura had to ask why they had waited for Orochimaru.

"Why didn't I lead you Orochimaru right away?" Kabuto continued at his leisurely pace and smirked back at her. "Because he was in the middle of something important. Lord Orochimaru wouldn't have minded as much as who he was with."

Sakura knew in her heart who it was, but she asked anyway.

"Well, Sasuke of course. He can be quite irritable when you disturb his training with Orochimaru, and even more so when he just woke up."

Fighting a low growl of fury, Sakura didn't continue the conversation. She just walked on in silence, keeping her emerald gaze down at the ground. The rocky ground was rough under her sandaled feet as she continued to trek the pathway. Kabuto shrugged casually and led her forward quickly.

At last, they arrived at a small room. It had a bed and a table, with a bathroom in the back room. Kabuto entered the dark room and lit a single candle. He placed it back on the table and turned to Sakura.

"Here's your room, at least for the time being. Make yourself comfortable." He turned and walked out the doorway, grabbing the large wooden door behind him. It slammed shut with a loud bang and Sakura could hear the "Click!" of the lock as he locked her inside the room.

With a sigh, Sakura plopped down on the bed. The plain white sheets were soft and clean, which felt wonderful on her dirty skin. The young kunoichi could feel in ache in her muscles from exhaustion. She was beyond tired, which was mostly because she had been travelling quickly and lightly for many days. It was nice to finally get to sleep on a real bed. No matter how refreshing the outside air was, even one excellent night's sleep in this cramped cave would be phenomenal for her mind and body.

Her eyelids drooped with the heaviness of sleep. She lay there, on the brink of unconsciousness yet at the same time on the verge of wakefulness. In the morning, she would be off again. Who knows what Orochimaru would plan on having her do this time. But if anything, hopefully it would bring more useful information to the Leaf Village. Sakura was ready for this mission to just be over. But something in the pit of her stomach told her that this adventure was only just beginning…

* * *

**A/N; **Here's the 6th chapter on in this story. I'm sure getting farther in this story... I'm getting close to the point I've been waiting for! This is gunna be a long story... Hope you've enjoyed it.

I created two ninja in this chapter. The guy isn't that important, but you'll be seeing more of the girl. She's gunna be a relatively important character, although not too important.

**Got Questions?**

If you're confused on anything at all in the story, feel free to ask! I don't want any confused people walking around. No matter how stupid you think the question is, ask away! After all, the only stupid question is a question not asked. (Don't forget that I have the right to not answer any questions… don't want to give away any surprises I have in the future!)

**Review, if you please!**

I'd really appreciate if you'd review. Tell me what you think I should change, any ideas you have, etc… I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Have an excellent day! ;)

-Cynder7777


	7. Chapter 7 Deadly Taste

**Disclaimer**: I am not the owner of Naruto, which stinks, but there's nothing I can do about it.

Sorry for the wait... Enjoy this chapter!

* * *

Chapter 7; Deadly Taste

Morning came all too soon for Sakura. She would have been more than happy to keep on sleeping in peace, but after getting up early for a couple of weeks, her body was still on the same old schedule. There was no point fighting it. She had little hope of falling asleep again anyway.

The pinkette sat up and sighed. Her candle had long since gone out, casting the room in extreme darkness. There was no sign that her door had been unlocked, which left her to just wait.

Sakura tentatively organized her small bag to pass the time. Digging through it reminded her of the map she had left for her allies. Had they picked it up? Did they get the information? Or had it all been a waste of time, an unnecessary risk? If only she knew for sure.

Her mind continued to wander. What would Naruto be doing now? Was he still on this mission? Probably not. Lady Tsunade wouldn't want his emotions to jeopardize the mission, so it would make sense for her to unassign him from it. Perhaps he was on another mission, or eating a bowl of ramen like he always does… The thought brought a slight smile to her face.

She heard footsteps in the hall outside of her room. Orochimaru must have been ready to tell her what her new mission was. That means the ninja who she gets to go with must be back. The kunoichi stood up and grabbed her bag, just as the lock rattled on the door. It was time to go.

The moment the door was open, she turned and faced it. Kabuto was standing there, slightly surprised to see her right there. "I suppose this means you're ready to go?" he asked.

Sakura nodded, so he turned and led her back through the long halls. Sakura was starting to kind of know her way around this place, but for now it was good that she had the ninja in front of her to lead the way.

After around 15 minutes of walking, they came to the room that Orochimaru always stayed. He was in his chair, in the shadows as always. His face twisted into a dark smirk when Sakura came into the room. He nodded to Kabuto, who disappeared once again.

"Sakura," Orochimaru acknowledged her. She just dipped her head to him. Then they both just stayed silent and watched the doorway.

After 15 minutes, Kabuto reentered the room, followed by a young kunoichi. She had mid-waist length spiky brown hair, with bangs long enough to cover one of her eyes. The other was a bright yellow-green and extremely cat-like, with a narrow pupil. She wore a sleeveless, long dark blue shirt and black leggings. She had black armbands on her forearms and completely bare feet. Sakura couldn't help but notice the bandage on her arm and the small scratches on her face.

"Orochimaru… Now what?" the young girl muttered.

"Ah, Moekasu. Nice of you to join us." The sannin gazed into her one visible eye.

She rolled those cat-eyes and grumbled, "Ok, just tell me what you want me to do. It must be pretty important to be calling me after I just completed a mission; not an easy one either. That guy put on one heck of a fight…"

_That guy put on one heck of a fight? What does she mean? What was she assigned to do, kill somebody…? _Sakura thought to herself, staring at the strange girl. This… This couldn't be her partner, could it?

"I have a mission for both of you. Sakura, for you it'll be quite a bit harder than the last one. On the other hand, this'll be rather simple for Moekasu. Something far easier than your last few months' worth." Orochimaru licked his lips with that long tongue of his.

Both kunoichi stared at him and listened intently.

"All you have to do is hunt down this person. He was a former Sound ninja who left about a year ago. He stayed in hiding, but was fool enough to show his face again not too long ago. He could be a hazard if one of the great nations catches him. After all, he has crippling information… Right now he's serving as a merchant in one of the small nations… All you have to do is to find him and take him out for me."

Sakura stared in shock. She was going to have to assassinate someone?! What?!

The girl, Moekasu, let out a growl. "Some low brained ex-Sound ninja? You called me here for this?! I haven't had a mission of this low importance since last year!"

Her reaction sparked a chuckle from Orochimaru. "Oh, you can't just run off and beat the pulp out of him. We can't draw attention to this 'merchant.' His body contains some of the secrets that we can't afford for the nations to know. You can't afford to draw attention to him. Sound ninja assassinating a random merchant… Doesn't happen. They know that. You have to make it seem… Natural."

"I get it now." The kunoichi rolled her eyes and glared at him. "You chose me because you want me to create a special poison that'll stop his heart or something. Make it look like he had a heart attack."

"I see that you understand well," Orochimaru purred.

She shook her head. "So you're utilizing my extreme skill for something as puny as this?" Those cat eyes gleamed with anger.

The sannin ignored her. "Also, when you finish, I won't be here. Moekasu knows where I'll be."

Sakura started to respond. "Ye-"

"So I get to go on a stupid mission because you want me to show the new girl where your new hideout is and so I can create a poison to kill some rogue." Moekasu curled her lip, showing teeth that were surprisingly sharp; the canines where long enough to be considered fangs. The resemblance between both Orochimaru's eyes and Moekasu's was absolutely amazing to Sakura. His may be more reptilian and hers more cat-like, but still…

"Any questions?" The brown-haired ninja looked like she was about to speak up, but a glare from Orochimaru got her to just glare at the ground and mutter something under her breath. "Alright. You may head off then."

Moekasu basically took off down the tunnels, not waiting for Sakura. With a sigh, she tried to follow, but the tunnels were still too confusing. Kabuto noticed her hesitation and took the lead to show her the way.

They arrived in the passageway right next to the exit, but there was no sign of Sakura's partner. Kabuto sighed and muttered, "That obnoxious little pest. She's always so aggravating." He turned to Sakura. "Go ahead and head outside. You'll find her out there, I'm sure."

Sakura nodded and took off for the outside. The bright sunlight from the morning blinded her for a second, but it didn't take long for her to adjust. She scanned the area carefully, then turned and trotted off.

After a couple of minutes, the pinkette stopped. She scanned the trees carefully. If her partner wasn't here, maybe she could make contact with the Leaf Shinobi…

Before she had the chance to move, she heard a voice ring out from behind her. "Well? Are you coming or not?" She twisted around and stared at Moekasu. The girl was standing behind her, arms crossed and her eyes narrowed.

"You!" Sakura stared at her. The girl padded towards her, still wearing no shoes. She stopped next to Sakura and had to look up just a hair. She blinked those green cat-eyes and smiled. Sakura studied her and asked, "Where did you run off to?"

"Nowhere." She tossed her head to send her brown waves of hair swinging. She stared directly into Sakura's emerald eyes. With a smirk, she continued forward. Sakura lunged forward to meet her and then matched her pace.

They walked in silence for a while, until at last Sakura felt the urge to create some sort of conversation. "So… How long have you been with Orochimaru?" she asked.

"Oh, 'bout three years." The ninja murmured flatly.

"Ok… So how old are you?"

With a slightly amused look, Moekasu purred, "Now, I'm 15."

This won a shocked stare from Sakura. She was a 15 year old?! But she was as tall as Sakura was!

"You seem surprised."

"I am."

"Hm." The conversation died with that. Both kunoichi picked up their speed until they were racing through the trees at a rapid rate. Moekasu took the lead and eventually they were on their way to their new mission.

* * *

"Hey, Grandma Tsunade!" Naruto raced into the large room of the Fifth Hokage.

She raised her head from the paperwork she was reading over. "Naruto, how many times have I told you to stop barging in like that?!" she demanded.

The blonde ninja ignored her question. "Any news on Sakura?" he asked eagerly.

With a shake of her head, the Fifth Hokage growled, "Is that all you came here to ask?"

Naruto put an arm behind his head and responded, "Uh, pretty much. So what's the word?"

With an irritated sigh, Tsunade told him, "If there was anything new, l would have told you already!"

"So… Nothing at all from her?" He lowered his arms and stared at the Fifth Hokage with bright blue eyes. She could see the disappointment already setting in.

"Naruto… If I hear anything, I'll have someone come alert you. Now go on. The fact that you're here instead of training proves to me that you need another mission. By tomorrow I should have one for you." She went back to her stacks of paperwork. With a sigh, Naruto turned and left the room.

He wandered through Konoha with his hands in his pockets. He didn't know what to do. Going to get a bowl of ramen was always an option, but he wasn't really that hungry. There was always training, but… With no one to train with, it wouldn't really be the same.

Naruto found himself heading towards the training clearing. He scanned the trees, stretching far around the empty meadow. Perhaps it would be fun to spar with someone. Maybe… Maybe one of the other ninja in his age group weren't busy on a mission.

But he didn't feel much like searching for one of his friends. Instead, Naruto sat down in the grass and stared up at the blue sky. Soft, white clouds soared in the endless blue sheet. They slowly drifted on above the young ninja.

"Oh, hey Naruto." The blonde ninja turned and blinked up in surprise at Shikamaru, who stood above him. The other ninja stood looking down to him, his dark eyes calm. He sat down next to Naruto and gazed up at the sky with him.

"Shikamaru… What are you up to?" Naruto stared at him.

Without moving from his pose, the man, whose hair was pulled up in a spiky ponytail, smiled mysteriously. "Oh, nothing as usual. Just came out here to see if anyone was around."

"That's funny. It's the same reason I'm out here."

Both ninjas leaned back and studied the sky in silence.

After a while, Shikamaru spoke up. "You're worried about Sakura, aren't you?"

Naruto couldn't deny it. Shikamaru knew the truth. But he didn't say anything.

"You know that she can take care of herself. It's a drag, but you aren't going to always be able to protect her." The ninja glanced over at Naruto. What he said was completely true. Sakura was tough; she could take care of not only herself, but everyone around her too. But Naruto couldn't help but worry. Sasuke was there, in Orochimaru's hideout. The thought of him caused the blonde ninja's fists to clench. Despite how hard they had tried to save him, Sasuke just wouldn't let them rescue him. He was too eaten up by the desire for revenge against Itachi, his older brother who had killed their entire clan in one night. He still hadn't met this goal, so Sasuke didn't want to come back to Konoha. Not only that, he had tried to kill them all without a second thought many times. All this had sunk in, and because of this Sakura grew to hate him.

Shikamaru waited for a little longer, but when Naruto made no sign of wanting to continue this conversation, he stood up. "Well, the Fifth Hokage should be expecting me. Something about a big mission. What a drag… See you around, Naruto." With that, the ninja turned and trotted off towards the village, leaving Naruto alone once again.

* * *

From the shadows on the side of the road, Sakura and Moekasu observed a lone merchant travelling. They both knew that he had to be their target. After all, he fit the description that both kunoichi had received.

Moekasu turned with a smirk and retreated a ways off of the road. She paused in a clearing. Sakura followed her and sat across from the girl.

"Well, we found him. Now what?" Sakura asked her.

She stuck out her right hand, palm up. "Now I make a poison for this assignment. Can you look in my bag for a vile or something? I'm going to need something to put the finished poison in."

Sakura nodded and turned to the small bag this kunoichi carried with her. She opened it and dug around a little. Her hand bumped something metal, and out of curiosity she pulled it out. It appeared to be a blue cloth headband or something… The pinkette turned it around in her hands and gasped.

It was a ninja headband. The metal plate had a long scratch across the center of it, right over the symbol. And that symbol happened to be the Leaf Village symbol.

"You…!" Sakura stammered. "You were a Leaf ninja?!"

Her cat-eyes snapped over to Sakura. "Hey! That's not any of your business!" She lunged forward and tore the headband out of her hands. "So what if I was. What does it matter to you?"

"I… I should recognize you…" Sakura murmured softly.

After one last hostile glare, she tucked the headband away from sight. "Just find me a vile. I need to concentrate now."

_Who are you?_ Sakura silently wondered as she went back to digging in the bag. She found an empty glass vile which would serve them well. She pulled it out and turned back to her partner.

Moekasu gripping her right wrist firmly with her left hand and had her eyes narrowed in concentration. On her open right palm, a slightly murky liquid was pooling. Sakura watched with fascination as the liquid grew in quantity until it was dripping down the girl's arm and off her fingers. "Vile!" she grunted, and held out her other hand. Sakura quickly handed it to her, and she scooped up as much as the liquid as possible into the vile. Then, she rubbed the remaining fluid in the grass next to her. Sakura heard a soft hissing noise and the grass withered and died.

_What?! Is this poison really that dangerous! But then how can she handle it…_ Sakura shook her head ever so slightly.

"There. I think this poison will do. It's mostly undetectable by sight, and smell… Just got to make sure he won't taste it." That's when the kunoichi dipped her finger in the poison, and before Sakura could stop her, licked it off of her finger.

Sakura expected the crazy girl to drop dead at the spot, but she just rolled her tongue in her mouth and grumbled, "Ugh. I can't taste it too much… And I can detect even the faintest poisons. I don't think he'll really notice." She turned and took in Sakura's shocked face. "I think we're ready… If you are, anyway."

"How did you… But the poison…" Sakura stammered.

Moekasu laughed. "Oh, that! I'm immune to any sort of poison."

"Immune? How? Was it the result of one of Orochimaru's experiments or something?"

The girl looked down and smiled softly, but she said nothing. She was beyond strange…

Her bright green eyes focus back in on Sakura's face. "We need to get going… The sooner we get this mission over, the better. It's already been 4 days… The sooner we head back the better."

It was true. It had taken them a total of 4 days to locate this guy, and they had to move quickly. The longer it took to do this, the greater the chance that one of the 5 great nations grew suspicious of this former Sound ninja and came to investigate.

Sakura crept up to the road once again and watched the merchant for a minute, until she returned to Moekasu. "He's moving pretty slowly, and on the main road. If we move ahead, we can find some way to slip the poison to him."

With a cool smirk, she purred, "Good thinking, Sakura. Come on. Let's go." The two ninjas dashed ahead.

They came to a stop at a small shop next to the road. "Perhaps it's time for a little snack, don't you think, Sakura?" The kunoichi trotted through the doors. After a slight hesitation, Sakura followed.

It was a tiny wooden restaurant of some sort, inhabited by an old lady behind a counter. She smiled at the two as they entered.

"Welcome, welcome! How may I help you, young travelers?" The old lady croaked at them cheerfully.

Moekasu walked straight up to her and happily purred, "Can we have two bowls of miso soup, please?"

"Of course, sweetheart," the old lady murmurs in a crackly voice. With an adorable smile, Moekasu steps back to wait patiently. Sakura puts on a cute smile too, as they both watch the old lady hobble over to a large pot, grab two bowls next to it, and pour some soup into the bowls. She returned to her counter and placed the bowls down. Moekasu reaches into her bag and pulls out some money. She delivers it to the old lady's hand. "Have a nice day," the old lady croaked as she tucked the money away underneath the counter.

With another smile, Sakura leans over and grabs both of the bowls. Together, the two kunoichi walk through the rest of the empty place and exit.

Once they were outside, Moekasu whipped out the vile. After checking the area to make sure no one was watching, she poured half of it in Sakura's bowl and the other half in her own. "All we have to do is claim to be working for this shack and offer him a little soup. Easy as that."

"Ok." Sakura walked a little ways away from the building and then held her bowl of soup up to her face. It smelled delicious… But Sakura knew that even one bite would be far too dangerous. They just had to wait.

Moekasu took a small bite of her soup. She licked her lips thoughtfully, then shook her head. "I don't think he'll taste it. He won't know what hit him."

"I can't believe you. Eating some super deadly poison like it's a drink of water…" Sakura shook her head.

This provoked a laugh from the other kunoichi. "Oh, you're no fun, Sakura. Where's your sense of adventure?" She looked at the pinkette, amusement gleaming in her one visible eye.

They stared at each other for a moment, until Moekasu broke the contact. They waited in silence.

Their target didn't keep them waiting long. He was soon a faint outline on the horizon.

Sakura turned to her companion. "Ok, since I'm 2 years older than you, I think it'll be best if I take the lead for this part. Let me do most of the talking. You just need to support me… Got it?"

"…" She received a slightly annoyed look from Moekasu. "… Oh, fine. Whatever. I got your back. Just don't fail."

"Right." Sakura turned back towards the approaching merchant.

He was now within range to hear and see them. Moekasu instantly started waving her arm and shouting, "Over here, sir!"

_Where did she suddenly get all that energy? She was all calm and collected one minute, the next all hyped up! This girl sure is strange…_

The merchant eventually came to a rest next to the two girls. Sakura could tell that he was probably in his late 20s just by looking at his face. His brown eyes flashed with annoyance at the two. "What do you want, kid? Can't you see I'm busy?"

Sakura held up her bowl of miso soup. "Please, can you buy a bowl of soup from us? It's homemade… And really good! Please?" She made her best puppy dog eyes. This was humiliating, but it would do the trick. Hopefully.

He looked down at them with a bit of scorn in his eyes. "No thanks, kid. Not interested."

"Please!" Sakura frantically begged, but he started to turn and walk away.

"Big sister…" Moekasu whined. "But what will happen to Mom if we don't sell enough soup. She's… She's…" The 15-year old broke off with a whimper.

_That's so convincing! I'd believe her, if I didn't know myself that this is an act… _Sakura put a comforting hand on her fake sister's shoulder. "I… I don't know," She sighed.

"Oh, for crying out loud…" The merchant reached into his pocket and grabbed out a couple of coins. He tossed them on the ground in front of the two, then snatched the soup out of Moekasu's hands and gulped it down. "Stop with the sob story. I bought your soup. Alright?"

Instantly, Moekasu was smiling again. "Thanks so much, sir!" she beamed at him.

"Yeah, whatever." He turned and continued on his trek down the road.

Moekasu leaned forward, her smile transforming into a mysterious smirk. She watched him as he walked past the small restaurant. A little ways past it, he started to stagger a bit, until he crumbled to the ground.

But before they even had the chance to move, the old lady hobbled out of her door, a bag of trash in hand. She saw the man lying there in a heap and stared in shock. Both girls snapped their heads away from the scene. If that old lady saw them just staring at the man as he lay there dying, she would get suspicious.

"Hey! Young'ins! She cried out to the two. They both turned and looked, then plastered looks of shock on their faces. Without another word from the old lady, both girls raced towards him.

They slowed as they came up to the dying man. He lay on his stomach, gasping like a fish. Those brown eyes searched out the two girls.

"It's ok, sir. You're going to be just fine," Sakura murmured, knowing it wasn't true.

He ignored her and glared into Moekasu's face. "You…" he spat pathetically, still struggling to breathe. "You…"

She crouched down across from him, her brown hair spilling into her face. "Sir?" she asked with fake innocence.

"I thought I recognized you," he wheezed. "I thought you looked like her… The Night Shadow, Orochimaru's personal assassin. I knew it was you… But I still took that soup. That cursed soup. You poisoned me, didn't you?" There wasn't much of a question in that last statement.

The kunoichi's blameless face changed in almost an instant. She smiled slightly, showing those sharp teeth of hers. "I didn't realize I was so well known among the Sound ninja ranks a year ago. Of course I poisoned you. It's my specialty."

"I never… I never realized… I was such a danger… To Orochimaru… The fact he sent one of his most efficient assassins after me… It doesn't seem like him." The man's words were coming harder and harder, hardly audible.

Green cat-eyes blinked at him, but that's all the response he got from her.

Despite his failing heart, the merchant tried to struggle to his feet to no avail.

"Don't fight it," Moekasu growled coldly. "There's no hope for you. It'll all be over in a matter of seconds. Even if it took longer, it would just me more hours of agony. My poison has no antidote." Sakura was shocked by the darkness that gleamed in her eyes, the ice in her heart. This girl…She really was an excellent assassin.

The man strained for a moment longer, but then just crumbled. He was just too weak to keep fighting. It was all over for him. He was done.

One last raged breath until his chest stopped rising. He was gone.

Sakura closed her eyes and then stood up. She looked back at the old lady and shook her head pitifully.

Moekasu stood up too. She turned and walked past Sakura, towards the old lady. She padded up to her and murmured something. The lady lowered her head and responded. With a dip of her head, the kunoichi entered the building.

Sakura blinked slowly. What was this girl up to? She leaned down and grabbed the man. With a grunt, she brought the body down the road back towards the building.

"You can take him inside, honey." The old lady gestured inside. Sakura nodded and lumbered in. She placed the body on the floor and joined Moekasu, who was sitting at one of the tables.

Once Sakura joined her, the girl pulled out two rolled up pieces of paper. "Here, take one. It's a map."

Sakura grabbed one and tucked it into her small pouch. Moekasu did the same.

The old lady returned and hobbled back to her counter. "I'll notify one of the villages nearby. One of them might know who the man was…" She looked over at him sadly. "So young, to die that way. That was a heart attack if I ever saw one." Sakura nodded solemnly, but Moekasu didn't look up from the table.

The elderly woman looked around the shabby little shack. "My son should be back soon. He can notify the village just a few miles from here. They can try and find his family, then bury him."

Moekasu glanced up and nodded faintly, before returning to staring at the table. Her gleaming eyes were dark and unreadable. Sakura got a chill when she tried to meet that gaze, so she just stood up and walked over towards the old lady. She was busy stirring the soup and humming a simple tune. As Sakura approached, the old lady turned and met her gaze.

"Anything else we can do for you before your son gets back?" she asked.

The old lady smiled at her sweetly. "Oh, honey, you've done enough as it is. I'll be fine."

Sakura nodded and returned to the table.

As she sat back down, she received a glare from her partner. "You aren't a Leaf shinobi anymore. You're a rogue ninja. It isn't our way to go offering to help every person we meet."

"Oh, it's just an old lady. Can't you show a little kindness to someone else?"

The pinkette expected to receive a venomous glare from Moekasu, but the teenager instead just lowered her head. In a soft voice, she murmured, "People like her, ones who have something to lose, are better off if they stay away from someone like me. Trust me. Those who get too close to me, even if it's just something as small as this, tend to get burned."

Sakura stared at her, seeing true sorrow gleaming in those cat-eyes. _Who are you? _she couldn't help but wonder.

Before Sakura said another word, the kunoichi stood up. "I'll be back in a minute or so," she called, then dashed out the door.

It took Sakura a minute to realize that this was the perfect chance for her to do her real mission; help the Leaf Village. Quickly, she pulled out her map, a bottle of ink, and a pen. Flipping it over, she wrote a message on the back in small, neat handwriting.

_This man who was killed is a Sound ninja with valuable secrets who did not die a natural death. Contact one of the hidden villages as soon as we leave… Please. Many lives may depend on it._

_-Pink_

She quickly folded the paper and casually walked over towards the counter. As she pretended to study a shelf with pots and plates, Sakura tucked the piece of paper under a small vase one the counter. Then she turned back around and walked slowly back to the table, feeling the old lady's eyes burning into her back with curiosity.

By the time Moekasu was back from doing whatever she was up to, the old lady had picked up the paper and was reading it. She finished with a soft gasp and a bewildered look on her wrinkled face. Sakura's partner stood at the end of the table and pulled out her map. She laid it flat on the table and then looked intently at the other kunoichi for a minute.

In a hushed whisper, she hissed, "This is where we are." She pointed to a small location on the map. "And this…" she moved her finger carefully, "is where we need to be." She returned her gaze to Sakura's face. "Got it?"

Sakura barely had the chance to nod when they both heard someone entering the building. Both kunoichi stared at the young man who dashed up to the old lady and delivered an enormous bear hug to her. After a quick conversation between the two, the man turned, looked at the corpse, then dashed outside once again.

Moekasu stood up and called, "We should probably get going. Good luck to you, and thanks for the soup." Both kunoichi left for the outside air.

Once outside, they took off towards the woods and left with extreme haste. After around 15 minutes, Moekasu froze. "Oh, don't tell me…" she grumbled to herself, then searched her bag quickly. "Crud."

"What is it?" Sakura came to the girl's side.

She dug her fingers into her hair and hissed, "I left my map at that old lady's shack." She clenched her teeth and spat a few words under her breath that Sakura couldn't catch. The next ones, however, she did hear. "Can I see yours for a second?"

Sakura froze. "Uh… Sure." She reached for her bag slowly, thinking about how she had used the map. Something told her that Moekasu wouldn't approve of the real use of the map… So an excuse would be an excellent idea.

She undid the flap and dug around a little, searching through the items. After a while, she looked up and shook her head, a puzzled look on her face. "I… I don't know what happened to it. I had it a minute ago…"

With an exasperated sigh, Moekasu growled, "Oh, just what we need. I need a map to find this stupid place…" She turned away with a scowl, her gleaming eyes flashing. She started to pad around the clearing, studying the area carefully. "Hmm…" she grumbled. "Well, I guess I can make do without a map. It'll all be by memory… But I think I remember enough to get us there. I've been there a few times…" She then leapt up into the branches of one of the towering trees and called over her shoulder, "Come on, Sakura."

"Coming," Sakura called, before taking off after the brown haired ninja.

* * *

It felt good to know that their journey was almost to an end… Although Sakura didn't recognize any of the surrounding area. After all, it turned out that Orochimaru's new hideout was somewhere quite a ways away from the Land of Fire, and the snowy mountains that Moekasu was leading them through didn't at all seem like home. Yet it would be, at least for now.

Moekasu slowed her rapid pace until she came to a complete halt. Soft, downy flakes of snow fell through the sky, adding to the feet of snow on the ground. She scanned the shadowy rocks and trees, clearly looking for some sort of… Entrance. Above, the little light supplied by the disappearing sun was being swallowed by the dark grip of night. The clouds that continued to dump snow didn't do anything to help.

She didn't have to look for long. It wasn't too long until a figure appeared in the almost misty snowfall. It took a while for the silhouette to come into focus, but then Sakura recognized the person.

"Kabuto." Moekasu turned and fixed her gaze firmly on him. "Come to lead us in? I have no clue where the entrance is…"

The medical ninja regarded her with gleaming black eyes. "Oh, that's right. You haven't been here since last year, am I right?"

With a nod, she added, "Plus we don't have a map. Makes it kind of hard to find somewhere, when you have to guess that you're going the right way."

He smirked at her and purred, "Come on. Orochimaru is very interested in how this mission turned out." With that, Kabuto turned and led the way to a cave hidden among the mountains. Both kunoichi followed closely through the narrow passages.

They entered a small cavern cast in darkness. Keeping her eyes fixed on the floor, Sakura entered the center of the room and stood there next to Moekasu.

A pair of amber eyes opened in the shadows. "You're back. Took you a little longer than expected, Moekasu."

The girl bristled at Orochimaru's cool comment. "It doesn't help that I had no idea where the heck this stupid place was."

This extracted a cold chuckle from the dark villain. "I expect that you at least finished the mission, didn't you? After all, you appear to have taken your time. I should at least have a job well done."

Narrowing her eyes, Moekasu snarled, "Which is far more than you desire, but it's what I got to offer."

Those reptilian eyes turned to Sakura. "How would you say the mission turned out, Sakura?" he purred at her.

"Er… Fine." Sakura avoided meeting his gaze.

"Would you say it was… Easy? Hard?" Orochimaru asked.

"It wasn't that hard. At least, not with her abilities." Sakura gestured towards the 15-year old who stood across from her, arms crossed.

"Alright," he purred. Then, his gleaming amber eyes studied her carefully. Sakura didn't really like the look in those eyes. It looked like he was planning something… Accessing her to see if she was ready for something. Whatever it was, it was giving Sakura the creeps. But his sharp gaze moved on. "Kabuto, find Sakura a room for the night. She must be tired. Then come back here. We have… Things to be discussed."

Sakura had a really dark feeling, but she obediently turned and followed through the tunnels. She tried to ignore it, but she couldn't help but notice how Orochimaru started talking softly to Moekasu after they were out of earshot. Kabuto led her to a small room with a bed, and desk. It was extremely similar to her other room in the other hideout, the Sound Village. He locked her in and probably went straight back to Orochimaru.

Orochimaru… What was that snake-hearted creep up to? Something about him was just really weird. He was up to something, and it couldn't have been good. Sakura couldn't help but remember how he had been so intent on talking to Moekasu about something. It might have been about the mission, but then why did he only mention it after she had left? It was all so strange…

Sakura collapsed on the bed and noticed the sheets were as soft as on the last bed. She sighed at the comforting fabric on her skin. Compared to sleeping in a bush, trying to stay out of sight, this was wonderful. The pinkette couldn't fight the heaviness of her eyelids, so the moment those emerald eyes closed, the kunoichi fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

Sasuke was busy sleeping, which was normal after a day of training with Orochimaru. But Orochimaru desired to speak to him, and something as simple as "sleep" meant nothing to one of the legendary sannin. However, Sasuke was very well known for his bad temper after waking up, and it was twice as bad if someone woke him. Nothing was going to make this easy for Kabuto.

He cautiously slid the door open, sending a shaft of light into the dark room. On the far wall, resting on a bed was a figure; it looked like Sasuke had his back to the door. He had been sleeping for around several hours, so there was a good chance that he was shifting on and off between sleep. There was a pretty good chance that he would wake easily.

Kabuto allowed the door to open a little more, sending a thicker beam of light into the room. A soft groan came from the sleeping man. He was definitely stirring now… The silver haired medical ninja sighed deeply and braced himself for Sasuke's rage.

It didn't take long for a voice to emerge from the darkness. "Why do you disturb me, Kabuto?" Kabuto cringed at the ice in Sasuke's growl.

After a slight hesitation, he spoke. "Lord Orochimaru has called for you."

"And you disturbed my sleep for this?!" The fury in his voice was growing quickly.

"This is of extreme importance." Kabuto blinked slowly.

With a snort, Sasuke settled down again. He was going to go back to sleep.

"Sasuke."

"…"

"Sasuke."

"…"

"_Sasuke."_

"…"

At last, Sasuke sat up. He slowly climbed to his feet, then turned his head to look at Kabuto. His eyes gleamed with the red sharigan. He glared at Kabuto with pure rage. "Fine." This blunt answer was all he gave.

Kabuto narrowed his eyes and said, "Come on." He turned and led the way down the tunnels.

* * *

Morning. Already, Sakura had been up and she was busying herself once again with organizing her small bag. But she was extremely curious about what Orochimaru could be planning. After all, his behavior yesterday was suspicious… But until he called, Sakura wouldn't have the chance to try and figure this out. There wasn't much for her to do… So she just waited.

After what she considered to be far too long, a ninja she didn't recognize unlocked the door. He said nothing, only gestured for her to come. Obediently, Sakura followed.

She came into the room that Orochimaru was in the night before. He was in there, standing up against the wall. Next to him was Kabuto, and on the other side… Sasuke Uchiha.

Sakura made extra sure to shoot Sasuke a frosty glare, which his emotionless eyes did not respond to. She focused her gaze then on Orochimaru.

"Ah, Sakura. You've progressed quickly in the last couple of weeks… So, I've decided to give you the real test of your abilities."

"…Real test?" Sakura murmured nervously. These words couldn't mean anything good.

"Yes. Your real test." Orochimaru narrowed his amber eyes smugly. "I've been told by numerous people that I shouldn't trust you." Those eyes glanced over to Sasuke, then returned to Sakura. "But I wish to be… Optimistic about where your loyalty will lie, in the end. Therefore, I think that I've chosen the right mission for you… The one that will truly determine where your loyalties will lie."

Sakura could feel her heart pounding in her chest. She looked at him nervously, trying to grasp what exactly he was saying. "Then… What's my mission?" She dared to ask.

The dark smirk that appeared on Orochimaru's face sent shivers down the kunoichi's spine. "It's not going to be an easy mission. Honestly… I'm not sure you will even be physically able to do it. That's why on this mission, you'll be going with Sasuke."

_Him?! I have to go with him?! _Sakura shot him a glare of the purest hate, but he countered it with his own crushing glare. Sakura could feel the loathing building in her heart, the dark rage. No. She… she couldn't go with him.

But something about the way Orochimaru looked at her gave her the feeling that this was the least of her concerns. He was stalling… But why? What was this mission?

"I'm sure that you'll be able to complete it, with Sasuke's help." Those eyes gleamed darkly.

"…So what's… The mission?" She had a bad, bad feeling in her heart; a feeling of dread.

"Simple." That dark smirk… Orochimaru blinked slowly, his amber eyes flickering darkly. "You're mission… Is to kill Naruto."

* * *

**A/N;** I fell really far behind on my updating... Sorry... I actually have 2 more chapters besides this one to add. Talk about not keeping up...

I have a reason for it, but I'm not going to share it. It'll sound like I'm pushing the blame on someone else, so... I just don't want to do that. I haven't got a real excuse, so... Sorry!

This chapter is, like, huge. A good 7,000 words or so... Nothing special... So sorry if it seemed a little... Long.

**Got Questions?**

If you're confused on anything at all in the story, feel free to ask! I don't want any confused people walking around. No matter how stupid you think the question is, ask away! After all, the only stupid question is a question not asked. (Don't forget that I have the right to not answer any questions… don't want to give away any surprises I have in the future!)

**Review, if you please!**

I'd really appreciate if you'd review. Tell me what you think I should change, any ideas you have, etc… I'd love to hear your thoughts.

More chapters on their way! Enjoy!

-Cynder7777


	8. Chapter 8 Traitorous Task

**Disclaimer;** I do not own Naruto. If only I did...

I've been meaning to do this for a really long time... So...

**Huge Shoutout to MazieShiba for posting my first review! This chapter is dedicated to you!**

That happened a long time ago, but I keep forgetting except for right after I post a chapter... So finally I'm getting this done.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 8; Traitorous task**

_"You're mission… Is to kill Naruto."_

Sakura's blood turned to ice at those words. She should have known there was a catch… She should have known something like this would happen.

"No… No. No!" She could hardly breathe from the shock, the horror.

This mission was a huge mistake…

A cold chuckle escaped from Orochimaru from where he stood in the shadows of the dark room. This reaction was exactly what he had expected. After all, why would this young Leaf kunoichi want to kill her own teammate?

"No…" Sakura whimpered, taking a slight step back from Orochimaru. "No! I… I won't do it!"

"What's this?" Those cruel eyes gleamed with wicked glee. "Are you refusing me?"

Sakura shook her head ever so slightly. "No… No. I can't- I just can't do it. No!"

"You clearly don't understand the situation, Sakura." Evil delight in what he was doing was all that filled the sannin's eyes. "Saying 'no,' isn't an option."

Her breathing slowly started to escalate. "What… What do you mean?" she murmured. She didn't want to know, but…

"Well," he drawled smoothly. "It's well within your best interest. After all, if you refuse I'll have to kill you."

The kunoichi swallowed nervously. She was willing to die. It was better than doing… _This_.

"I can tell that the threat of death hasn't phased your determination. But… That isn't the only thing that will happen."

She knew there had to be even more to this…

"After all, if you have even an ounce of care for your family and friends…"

Oh, no. She should have expected this. Tsunade and said that Orochimaru would try to twist and blackmail her… But she hadn't expected something this bad! She had to do something… But he wouldn't just stop with her. Orochimaru had every intention to kill everyone she cared about, just to force her to bend to his will. This was far worse than she thought…

"I… No. No! You'll… You'll kill them all anyway. Your promise is worth nothing. For all I know, you'll kill me and them anyway." She shuddered at the thought of what sort of horrendous ways he could do it. Killing Naruto, no matter how obnoxious he could be, at this snake's word just wasn't worth it. She wouldn't betray him over this.

"Oh, it's true. I would kill them should they get in my way. But you see, there actually is a difference." He took a slight step closer, a nasty gleam in his eyes. "Normally, if I happen upon them and they prove problematic, I'd just kill them quickly and painlessly to be done with it. But if you were to say, refuse this mission… I'd make it a sport to hunt down and slowly torture each and every person you ever cared about to death. Perhaps I'll even force you to watch as the light slowly fades from their eyes…"

Sakura fought to choke down the bile that rose in her throat. He really would. He'd go out of his way to hunt them down and kill them like it was some kind of game. She couldn't let them die that way… But she would have to kill Naruto…

He leaned, blinking slowly. "Naruto too would be one of them too," he breathed in her ear. "His death would be the worst. Think about it. You're doing him and all the others a kindness if you take this mission."

"But… No…" Sakura flinched away. In a sick sort of way, his logic made sense. But still…

"Well? You know I don't like to wait. Are you going to do this, or not?" Still, those snake eyes gleamed horribly. Sakura couldn't break her gaze away from them.

"I…" She lowered her head and struggled to even breathe. This… No… She couldn't… But… No… Ugh! She didn't know what to do. _Wait. _An idea struck her. _I… I do have something I can do. I doubt that Orochimaru knows where Naruto is, and neither does anyone else… If I can convince Sasuke to come to Konoha so I can talk to someone and find out where he is, I can always slip word to the Hokage about what's happening!_ It was better than nothing. So Sakura had to agree."I… I… I don't have a choice. I… I guess I'll have to. I have to…" She gulped and forced out, "Kill Naruto."

"I'm assuming that means yes?" Orochimaru purred, blinking slowly. "You'll do this mission?"

___Not too much of a choice… But I can make this work. I can. But still_, Sakura moaned in her head. "Yes, I'll… I'll do this." She wished with all her heart that she could take those words out of the air and swallow them again, having never said anything of the matter, but there was no chance of that. It was too late.

Sasuke moved from his position in the shadows and came up next to Sakura. They were now… Partners. Sakura fought the bile rising in her throat, making sure to shoot an icy glare to the Uchiha. He didn't respond, only taking his stance to her side and watching Orochimaru with gleaming black eyes.

The snake lover smiled darkly. "You're mission is to find Naruto Uzumaki and to kill him, no matter the cost. Sakura, this is your mission. You must do most of the work yourself. Sasuke is coming to assist you, and to… Keep you in check."

_He… He really means to make sure I actually do it and don't chicken out. I can't kill Naruto!_

_This has to work…_Sakura nodded weakly, feeling sick to the stomach with what she was agreeing to do. Even if her plan succeeded, the thought of doing it was still horrifying.

"I don't care how you do it; I just want you to kill him. That is all."

Sakura cringed and once again nodded weakly. This was horrid… How was Sakura supposed to kill her own friend, her teammate? He was so strong… Probably one of the best ninja in the entire world. Even with Sasuke's help, how could she bring herself to actually do it? With a microscopic shake of her head, the pinkette growled to herself, _no. This plan will work. I won't have to do this._

"When should we leave?" Sasuke grunted bluntly. Sakura started and looked at him warily.

"Right now should be fine." Orochimaru licked his lips with his creepy tongue.

With a blunt nod, Sasuke turned and stalked out of the room without even waiting for Sakura to try and follow. She took off after him in the tunnels, every muscle in her body screaming for her to just take off into the woods for the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Dark hatred was boiling up in her blood towards that traitor… Sasuke, that little rat, would ensure that she would do as Orochimaru commanded. Nothing Sakura could do would convince him otherwise. He would ensure that she killed Naruto.

Yet Sakura had to try. Should something happen to prevent her to reach word to the Hokage, she couldn't bring herself to kill Naruto. She felt disgusted at showing any sign of weakness to Sasuke, especially after what they had been through in the past, but if it would give Naruto even the slightest chance… She had to try. She knew Naruto. He wouldn't want to hurt her, and he would understand… He'd even be willing to die to help her. But if there was any way to give him another chance to live, Sakura would try anything. Even if it meant buttering up to Sasuke Uchiha.

* * *

A familiar blonde ninja was racing through the trees after several of his friends. Naruto Uzumaki was on his way to complete a mission in a small land between the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth. He raced next to his teammates for this mission; Shino, who served as team leader, Kiba and Akamaru, and Hinata. All of these ninjas were on a special mission. There had been a small group of rogue ninjas causing problems for people in this region, so the team's goal was to find these rogues, or at least one of them, to capture. The rest they could kill, but they were to get one alive. This was giving Kiba and Akamaru a chance to use their combined tracking skills, and Hinata was scanning the area with her Byakugan. Shino had sent a bunch of bugs out to check out the area too. But Naruto really didn't have anything to do until they found who they were looking for, which was giving him time to worry about Sakura.

There had been no new information about Sakura when Naruto had been sent out on the mission. He had heard that she had given them information about one of Orochimaru's many labs, but nothing about how she was doing. The blonde ninja couldn't help but worry about what was going on to her. Did she run into Sasuke? What was happening to her right now? All these things swirled around in his head, and he sighed.

Kiba, who was on the back of his large white dog, fell back to where Naruto was. "You ok, Naruto? You seem out of it, spacey."

"Oh," Naruto stared off into the distance for a second, then returned his gaze to Kiba's hard black eyes. "I am a little distracted… But I'm fine. Let's keep going."

The brown haired ninja narrowed his eyes, the red triangle marks on his cheeks standing up against his skin, before having Akamaru lurch forward once again. Naruto watched and lowered his gaze with a halfhearted smile. It would be best if he focused on the mission.

He dropped back a little, falling into step with Hinata. The young ninja was running and scanning the area with her Byakugan for any sign of the rogues. She jumped a little when she saw him looking at her with his bright blue eyes.

"Naruto?" She stammered nervously, fighting the blush that threatened to appear on her cheeks. "Can I help you?"

"No." Naruto glanced away casually. "I don't need anything."

"Oh, ok…" Hinata lowered her gaze nervously and tried to concentrate on scanning the area, but something was making it hard for her to focus. Naruto noticed this, but he said nothing.

Shino was noticing this too, so he gestured to Naruto. The blonde ninja leapt forward to meet the squad leader. "What is it, Shino?" he asked.

"Naruto, I know that you are distracted because of Sakura." He tried to deny it, but Shino wouldn't buy it. "You need to concentrate. It's important that you concentrate. These rogue ninjas aren't to be taken lightly."

"Er… Right." Naruto looked at the other ninja, whose eyes were hidden behind his dark glasses. "I'll try my best." With that, he slipped back into his position as the ninjas continued on. Yet he was unable to stop worrying about his pink haired friend.

* * *

Sakura exited the dark corridors of the other hideout, emerging to a dark cloudy world that still swirled with snow. The deep white drifts were cold and icy, as were the specks of ice that fell from the sky. The storm matched her heart; both were gloomy and turbulent. Exhaling sharply, Sakura scanned the rocks and trees. Sasuke was already out here somewhere… She had to find him so they could go on the mission.

She wandered for a moment through the silent moment, swirled with white, avoiding straying far from the entrance of the one of the Sound Bases. After a while, she gave up on trying to find him. She really didn't feel like she had enough willpower to do anything. She sank down on one of the rocks and sighed. More snowflakes whirled around her as Sakura closed her eyes peacefully.

The moment her emerald eyes opened again, Sakura saw him standing in front of her. He had his arms crossed and his onyx eyes narrowed smoothly. His raven hair hung down as it always did in spikes. Sakura felt dark hate building up in her again, but the only thing she did to show it was glare at him once again.

"Are you ready?" Sasuke rumbled in a monotone voice.

Sakura shouldered past him and hissed over her shoulder, "Yes."

Sasuke blinked coolly at her, then raced off. Sakura forced herself to follow.

Sakura followed Sasuke, although she wasn't sure where exactly they were going. Neither of the two knew where Naruto was supposed to be… But the pinkette kept silent and followed.

They eventually escaped the snowy reaches and entered a simple forest. She fought the urge to stop. It was crucial that she tried to convince Sasuke…

The two raced through the trees, moving extremely quickly. It was clear to Sakura that Sasuke just wanted to hurry up and get to the mission. They would have to do a little… Research. Figure out where exactly Naruto was.

Sakura skidded to a stop and crouched on a branch of one of the many trees. She waited, her eyes cold. It didn't take very long for Sasuke to skid to a stop and land on the branch next to Sakura.

They stared at each other for a moment. At last, Sasuke growled, "Why did you stop?"

"I…" Sakura lowered her gaze and trailed off. She had to try now to convince Sasuke, but the thought of buttering up to him… It revolted her. For Naruto's sake, she would do it though. "I… Sasuke, I can't kill Naruto!"

Those hard onyx eyes flickered, although Sakura wasn't sure with what. "You think I didn't know this? Sakura, I told you that Orochimaru is not one to play with." Sasuke crossed his muscular arms. "But you have your orders. What do you expect me to do about it? It was your choice. You deal with it."

"Sasuke, please… I know that I can't get out of this… But I can't kill him. I can't kill Naruto! Please Sasuke, I know I still have to do this… But at least give Naruto a chance! Please… Let me leave him alive. After this entire mess… Please just let me leave him alive."

Sasuke smirked at her. "You want to spare that loser's life? You still care? And yet you're here. None of this adds up, Sakura. None of what you've done this entire time." His onyx eyes gleamed.

Sakura clamped her eyes shut and murmured, "Sasuke, _please_."

After a hesitation, Sasuke rumbled, "Alright."

Sakura's head snapped up and she stared at him for a second. "Wait… You'll actually let me do it?" She whispered.

"Just this once. And only barely alive. But you can leave him still breathing."

Despite how much she felt hatred for him, Sakura couldn't help but feel a little gratitude. But why did Sasuke say yes? Why was Sasuke being so kind to her? Why…?

* * *

Sasuke blinked slowly at Sakura. Something wasn't right… He felt… Strange. There was some bizarre fluttering feeling in his chest, and the ninja was sweating slightly. Something was definitely wrong…

But he showed no sign of this, just fixing his onyx eyes firmly on Sakura. Instantly, he briskly moved on from this conversation. "So how do you plan on finding Naruto?" he nonchalantly murmured.

"I…" Sakura looked at the ground thoughtfully. She was so relieved that she wouldn't have to actually kill Naruto should the other plan fail… So relieved she hadn't even thought of how to find him. It shouldn't matter how she found him, since it was mostly a cover to try and get to the Hokage. But Sasuke was a suspicious man. He didn't trust her and he certainly was watching her like a hawk. After a moment more of thought, she shrugged. "I think I'll… I'll talk to someone from the Leaf Village. They'll be more than happy to tell me exactly what we need to know so we can find Naruto."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "You really think I trust you not to go run into the Leaf Village and gather a group of shinobi to ambush me? What a joke." He smirked at her smoothly. By the look in her eyes, Sasuke could tell that Sakura was quickly gaining back her hatred for him. He still didn't really know why exactly she hated him, but it was strong.

"No, I don't expect you to trust me." Sakura stated coolly. "But this is the only idea I have to offer."

The Uchiha stood up on the branch and looked down at the pinkette calmly. "Well, going to the Leaf Village is a good plan. I'll just have to come with you."

That earned him a shocked stare. "Talk about getting ambushed. They'd come rushing in at you in a second! You wouldn't stand a chance!"

"Bite me," Sasuke growled.

The truth was Sasuke could probably stand on his own against even swarms of Konoha shinobi. But Sakura just didn't want him to be able to tell what she was going to do. If he would be with her, she couldn't go straight to the Hokage. She'd have to use more backhand methods…

After a moment longer of staring at him, Sakura shook her head and muttered, "Whatever. Your choice." She stood up too and gazed up at Sasuke coolly. "Come on. If we hurry, then we'll reach the village by tomorrow." She took off, her pink hair swinging across her back with each stride. Sasuke felt his heart skip a beat at the sight. _What is wrong with me?!_ He silently screeched at himself, before following the kunoichi in front of him.

* * *

The four ninjas stopped for a moment. Shino blinked at the others for a minute, his hidden eyes stopping on each of the ninjas. His gaze lingered on Naruto as he started to speak. "We now know the location of the band of rogues that we were to hunt down. It's critical that we proceed very carefully from this point forward. We need one member of this band alive, so we need to come up with a plan."

A low growl came from Akamaru, and Kiba smiled at his dog and rubbed the canine under his jaw. "Well, we can just storm their place and knock them all out. We'll just pick one to keep alive."

Naruto leapt to his feet and shouted, "Yeah! Let's do it!"

Shino sighed at their combined rashness. "That could work, but it's far too reckless. There are so many things that could go wrong. We could fall into a trap, or kill them all by accident. We need a stable plan, with fewer variables."

Kiba snorted and muttered something under his breath, scratching Akamaru's head and neck. "Then I got nothing," he grumbled.

Hinata nervously murmured, "We could try to find a way to lure the rogue ninjas into an ambush…"

"That's a good idea, but I don't know how we could trick them into walking blindly into a trap like that. From the information we've gathered from the small villages in the area, these are formerly ninjas from the Village Hidden in the Stones. They won't be foolish enough to get trapped like that."

That's when Naruto decided to join the conversation. "Well, I could aggravate them or something and when they chase after me, I can lead them to you guys."

With a sigh, Shino shook his head. "No. For all we know, they'll kill you. We need a better plan."

"…Oh, whatever. I can take care of myself," the blonde responded hotly.

"This is no time for carelessness, Naruto. I am in charge of this squad. I'll decide our plan of action. And this isn't it." Shino squared his shoulders and looked down at the ground thoughtfully. His hood which he wore over his head cast a long shadow on his face. "Give me a chance to think this over."

"Uh, right, Shino," Hinata murmured timidly, lowering her white eyes. She fought the urge to glance over at Naruto and kept her gaze fixed firmly on the ground.

Kiba sighed and rubbed Akamaru's ears. "Well, while you're planning our best move, Akamaru and I can scout the area a little; see if we find anything useful." He straightened up and glanced at them all with his black eyes. "If that's alright with you, of course," he grumbled at the squad leader.

"Sure. Keep out of sight and see if you can dig up anything useful. The rest of us can stay here." Shino calmly stated.

With a triumphant glance over at Naruto, Kiba leapt onto his dog's large back and rumbled, "Of course. Watch yourselves while I'm gone." Then, the ninja hound and his master took off into the forest.

Naruto rolled his bright blue eyes and fiercely demanded, "Why did you let Kiba go but not me? You know I'm no good at waiting or scheming… Can't I go with Kiba?"

Sighing with exasperation, Shino told him, "Naruto, we are in enemy territory. The more ninjas sniffing around, the sooner they'll find us. We need to stay hidden the best we can."

"I still don't get why you sent Kiba but not me…" The blonde ninja grumbled, but he fell silent afterwards, allowing Shino to think quietly. Hinata crossed her arms and stared at the ground nervously as both of the other ninjas waited for Shino to decide there next plan of action.

Even after Kiba returned not much later, Shino still hadn't spoken. So all three ninjas had to wait in silence for their leader to come up with a plan.

* * *

Sakura gazed out at the Leaf Village. She couldn't help but feel a twinge of anxiety as she thought about what she had to do. She was entering her home village with a very wanted rogue and trying to creep around behind his back. There were an endless number of ways this could go wrong. It would be best if no one knew she was here, especially with Sasuke right behind her. She could almost feel his light breath on the back of her neck, which reminded her of the traitorous things he had done. The fact she was here with him was almost enough to get her arrested, although Lady Tsunade trusted her.

After taking another deep breath, Sakura pulled up her hood to hide her face and turned to face her partner. The Uchiha was standing there with his own hood already up. "Are you ready?" he quietly asked, although Sakura could detect no concern for her in his question. He didn't care about her. He just wanted to get the mission done.

"Yes," Sakura spat. Even she was surprised with how much venom filled those words. She was really _that_ mad with him, was she?

Both ninjas silently moved from the shadows at the edge of the forest onto one of the side roads that entered the village. It would be just foolish to try and enter on the main road, so they agreed to enter on one of the side paths. Sasuke would come in with her and keep an eye on her while the pinkette would go and gather the information she needed. It was a relatively simple plan, and hopefully nothing would go wrong. But they agreed that if necessary, they would both fight their way out.

The closer the two came to the village, the more tense Sakura felt. She could hardly take one step after another, fully aware of what she was doing. Betraying Sasuke Uchiha was the best way in the world to get yourself killed. And she was trying to do this right now. But not only that… She was also tricking one of her friends into telling her where Naruto was, even with the large chance that she'd have to kill him… It seemed just like the sort of thing that a missing-nin would do.

They found a small group of merchants entering, who were wearing cloaks similar to the two ninjas. It would be the perfect opportunity to sneak in, so they merged with the group. The merchants and travelers entered the Village Hidden in the Leaves and weaved through the people on the main roads. That's when Sakura and Sasuke broke off from the group.

Sakura knew exactly where she was going. With a glance towards her partner, she turned sharply and traveled down a side road. Sasuke followed her from a distance, keeping well hidden.

It didn't take very long for Sakura to arrive at a small flower shop. She nervously entered, the fragrance of flowers overwhelming her. At the counter, with her back to the kunoichi, was a blonde girl. She turned and blinked in surprise, her blue eyes wide.

"Sakura!" Ino exclaimed in pleasant shock. "I thought you were out on your special mis-" She cut herself off when she saw the way Sakura cringed. "Oh, sorry. I shouldn't mention it, should I…?"

Emerald eyes met blue. "I need your help, Ino…"

The tall blonde girl tilted her head and smiled sweetly at Sakura. "I assume this has to do with your mission?"

Another cringe. "Er… You could say that…" The pinkette focused her eyes firmly on her friend. "I need to find Naruto. It's really important. Do you know where he is?"

Ino blinked and murmured, "Naruto, huh? Yeah, I think I heard something about him going out on a mission in one of the small lands between the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth. I think he was hunting down a small band of rogues or something… He left a few days ago."

"Really?" Sakura lowered her eyes and studied one of the many bouquets of flowers on display in the shop. "So if I follow him I should be able to find him… Right?"

With a nod that sent her blonde bangs bobbing, Ino confirmed those words.

"Thanks so much, Ino." Sakura smiled nervously and glanced over her shoulder. _I have to tell her! I have to… Sasuke, please don't get suspicious… Just give me a few more minutes..._

Giving her friend a confused and slightly wary look, Ino murmured, "Sakura, are you alright?"

Taking a deep breath, Sakura breathed, "Ino, something real big came up. This whole mission with Orochimaru… It's gone terribly wrong. I have to-"

_Ring!_

Sakura froze at the sound of footsteps coming from the door. _No! I was so close… Please, no…_

After a pained look at her friend, the blonde turned and smiled at the person at the door. "Hello!" she called.

Forcing every move, Sakura turned slowly and glanced over at the person. Her heart began beating again when she realized it was someone else… Someone who didn't even look slightly familiar.

The person walked smoothly up towards the counter and said, "I ordered a bouquet of flowers and I'm here to pick them up."

Ino nodded and set herself to work, but before that she turned and told Sakura, "Sorry… Please, Sakura, continue."

But the pinkette just shook her head hollowly and back away. She stared into her friend's baby blue eyes and whispered, "Oh, Ino… Tell the Hokage I'm sorry… So, so sorry," before dashing out the door. She could feel the 17-year-old's sharp, questioning gaze on her back as she dove back into the crowd.

_Oh, crap! _Sakura silently cursed her luck. _I couldn't have stayed… What the heck am I going to do? _Silently, she started to hunt out her partner.

Looking for him didn't really serve much of a purpose, because when she turned around again he was there. It was almost like he materialized from the shadows.

"What took so blasted long?" Sasuke demanded coolly.

"I, eh… Had to wait for a customer to finish up before I could talk to her alone."

His dark eyes gleamed suspiciously, but he just growled, "You have it?"

She nodded.

"Then let's get out of here."

* * *

**A/N;** Next chapter I forgot to add! One more's coming... Like in the next 5 minutes. XD

**Got Questions?**

If you're confused on anything at all in the story, feel free to ask! I don't want any confused people walking around. No matter how stupid you think the question is, ask away! After all, the only stupid question is a question not asked. (Don't forget that I have the right to not answer any questions… don't want to give away any surprises I have in the future!)

**Review, if you please!**

I'd really appreciate if you'd review. Tell me what you think I should change, any ideas you have, etc… I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Have a great week!

-Cynder7777


	9. Chapter 9 Hunt

**Disclaimer; **Naruto isn't my property. I own no rights to it or anything. Just this story. :)

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 9; Hunt**

"So where is Naruto?"

The unspoken question hung in the air between Sakura and Sasuke. The pinkette had taken the lead and hadn't spoken to Sasuke at all about where they were going or what had happened. He knew she got what they needed, but nothing more.

Both ninjas were racing at top speed through the forest, well on their way to where Naruto was supposed to be. The closer they grew to their destination, the more despair and distress Sakura felt. She knew that with every giant leap, they grew painfully closer to having to… To… To kill Naruto.

She shifted her emerald eyes from the path she was forging ahead to Sasuke who was only a few paces behind her. He showed no emotion in those onyx eyes of his. He couldn't care less about what they had to do. All this did to Sakura was make her feel more fury towards him. Sasuke didn't care about his former friends and allies. He just wanted more power. No matter how much Naruto cared about him, no matter how much Naruto chased after him, Sasuke wouldn't come back; not willingly. That rotten little traitor…

And to think that she used to love him. She was so naïve, so foolish. Now, all Sakura wanted to do was to get as far away from him as she could.

But Orochimaru _had_ to assign her to this mission with _him. _It had to be with Sasuke. Not some other puppet of his, not some other merciless Sound Ninja. It had to be Sasuke.

Why did this world have to hate her so much?

Sakura shook off the dark thoughts. She didn't want to be plagued with despair like this. This darkness that beleaguered in her heart made her feel no better, so she pushed it away. Now wasn't the time to wallow in self-pity. It was time to harden her heart.

Her eyes snapped back to the path she forged on through the trees. They had at least a few days journey ahead of them… A few days until she would have to battle Naruto. This battle, this mission, would change everything; Sakura felt that for sure. She just wasn't sure how.

* * *

Hidden deep in the shadows, Orochimaru rested, his amber eyes closed. Seated comfortably in one of his chairs, he sat silently, resting. He was so still, it was almost impossible to see his calm breathing.

Soft footsteps announce the arrival of Kabuto. The silver haired medical ninja entered the room and set something down on a table next to the door.

A single amber eye opened to the thinnest slit, focusing on Kabuto.

"I have brought your medicine, Lord Orochimaru." Kabuto turned his black eyes to his master.

"Good." That eye closed slowly, like the lazy eye of a snake that rests in the warm sun.

Kabuto quickly started to distribute Orochimaru's meds to him. As he did, he shot his master a quick glance. With a nervous breath, he murmured, "Forgive me for my rashness, but are you sure that Sakura was ready for this assignment?"

"Are you questioning my judgment, Kabuto?" There was a touch of amusement in those shadowy words that the sannin hissed.

"Er, no, Lord Orochimaru." Kabuto hastily added.

This evoked a soft chuckle. "Don't lie to me, Kabuto. I know that you are wondering what I could possibly be thinking, sending her on a mission like this so soon, especially with Sasuke, who she's shown an extreme dislike for." His tongue slid out of his mouth, then crept back into it. "I know this is her third mission and that she's only been with me for a few weeks… But don't doubt my judgment. I know exactly what I'm doing…"

"Do you really think she'll do it? That she'll kill Naruto Uzumaki?" Kabuto questioned softly, still busy with his work.

His lips twisted into a dark smile. "With Sasuke there, she won't have much of a choice." Orochimaru chuckled to himself. "She'll have to do it; I've shown her that much. Now we'll know just how far she is planning to go."

Kabuto nodded softly and didn't say anything else. He just did finished his job, grabbed the things that he placed on the table, and withdrew to the doorway. "We'll see," he called over his shoulder before disappearing down the hall, leaving Orochimaru in silence once again.

The flickering light of the single candle in the good-sized room cast long shadows on Orochimaru's pale face. He lowered his head, pieces of his long black hair across his face.

* * *

At last it was time to complete the mission.

Naruto could feel his anxiety creeping up in him. Shino had finally come up with a fine plan on how they were to proceed. The blonde ninja shifted his weight from where he crouched in the shadows of the bushes. Kiba and Akamaru were hidden well in a grove of trees just yards to Naruto's right, while Hinata was up high in a tree across from him. These three ninjas were waiting here, on a narrow stretch of the forest; it was in a small ravine that had a river cutting across it. High, rugged cliffs would keep the rogue ninjas trapped on this small trail. Just up ahead was a dead end. Once Shino led the ninjas in, they would be forced to turn around. That's where the Leaf shinobi would jump out and strike hard and fast. It would be over in minutes. At least, according to the plan.

It had been a couple of days since Shino first started planning. Apparently, they "didn't have enough information" on the first day, so they camped out for a while. The ninjas took turns going into nearby towns to get supplies and pick up a little information while they were at it. After two days of this, Shino had finally come up with a clever plan. They knew one of the things that these rogues were interested in getting, so it was child's play for the ninjas to find a way to trick their targets into believing that they had it. Just a little bit of clever planning, and they were well on their way to the perfect ambush. Now the only thing left to do for Naruto, Kiba and Akamaru, and Hinata was to wait.

Well, everyone knew that waiting wasn't Naruto's strongest point. It didn't take long for him to grow fed up with how long this was taking Shino.

"Where is he already…?" the blonde grumbled from his post.

"Oh, stop whining. He'll be here soon enough." Kiba snapped at him, clearly irritated. His dog whimpered softly, fully aware that his master was annoyed.

Naruto clenched his teeth but said nothing. They both just returned to waiting in awkward silence.

Eventually, all three of the waiting ninjas heard scuffling in the bushes up ahead. They tensed, realizing the time was upon them.

A sharp voice broke through the rising noise of people racing through the forest. "He just went up ahead! It's a dead end; we can trap 'em there!"

Right down the small animal path in front of Naruto's nose, the outlaws raced. From the glimpses he caught of them through the trees, Naruto saw that there had to be five or six of them, and they all had a variety of weapons. The leader appeared to be a tall, muscular man with a jagged scar that stretched from over his left eye down to his right cheek and dusty blonde hair. He had tan skin and brandished a pair of long, gleaming swords. The rest of the ragtag group seemed to, for the most part, obey his every command. This man looked like a true warrior, but he was the ideal one to capture…

The last of the fugitives raced down the path and disappeared into the blocked off clearing. Stealthily, the ninjas crept closer to their targets.

They crouched at the outskirts of the clearing and gazed in silently. The six ninjas were pacing around, beyond annoyed that their precious treasure—whatever that was—wasn't there.

After a last circle around the clearing, they all turned to exit only to find a group of Leaf shinobi standing in their way.

The leader stepped forward and waved a sword at them. "Move, unless you want to taste this steel when I blow this sword through your mouth," he called callously. None of the shinobi moved. He shrugged and turned to his men. "Three against six. This'll be a breeze."

With savage howls of delight, the men started to advance towards the ones blocking the way. Naruto whipped out his kunai and smiled mischievously. He was itching to fight after so much waiting. But despite the urge to battle, the blonde ninja couldn't help but wonder where Shino went. After a slight hesitation, he shook the feeling off. Shino would come when he was ready. No point in worrying about him.

_Clang!_

Steel clashed against steel, and the battle started.

_Clang! Clash! Clatter!_

Naruto lunged forward and dodged back, each time slashing with his weapon. Hinata weaved around the foes and delivered precise blows with her Gentle Fist attack. Kiba and Akamaru worked in perfect harmony and delivered blow after harsh blow, mostly through their combined attack Fang over Fang.

It turns out that these rogues were pretty good fighters. It took far more strength than expected for Naruto to fend off their attacks, and it turned out all six of them were talented in their chosen weapons. Each was strong and plenty powerful, although it was evident that the leader was the strongest of all. No surprise there.

More steel strained against steel. Grunts of pain rippled through the air as the two sides inflicted wound after wound and exchanging blow after blow. This had hardly been going on for ten minutes yet both sides were moving so quickly that it felt like it had been going on for hours.

Subconsciously, Naruto noticed that Shino had appeared on the sidelines and was gathering a large sum of insects in a cloud above his head. Soon he would be joining the battle, once all his insects gathered…

_Snick!_

A shallow but long cut appeared on the blonde ninja's forearm.

_No,_ Naruto shook his head as if to clear it of random thoughts. He had to focus on this battle, or he would receive more cuts like the one that now stung on his arm. It's time to fight.

* * *

The clashing of steel rises through the nearby forest, disturbing the animals who call it their home.

It drew Sakura and Sasuke straight to their target.

From the trees up above the ravine where the battle was taking place, both ninjas watched silently. Sakura's breathing was short and rugged as she realized what was quickly approaching. She would have to do it soon…

Kill Naruto.

The thought was just so painful… So unbelievable… So callous. To kill one she cared about… One who trusted and cared about her… Sakura had never felt more like an animal in all her life.

And the fact that Sasuke had done the same thing so many times… That thought just rekindled the icy feeling she had towards the dark missing-nin. Working with him wasn't improving her mood; not in the least. With a rattling sigh, Sakura fixed her gaze back onto the battle unfolding before her eyes.

She counted four ninjas on the Leaf side, while six battled against them. As she recognized each person—Shino with his infamous bugs, Kiba and Akamaru battling side by side, Hinata striking precisely, and Naruto with his clones—Sakura's heart continued to sink. She couldn't fight them all… Her odds were small enough against Naruto. If only he would take off and separate… Then she could get this accursed mission over with.

The heated battle continued and the two observers watched in silence. Once Shino joined the battle, it was as good as over. One by one, the enemy ninjas fell to the ground—either unconscious or dead—until only one remained. But he didn't stand a chance. It was too late for him. One against four. With those odds, it was hardly a minute until he collapsed on the dirt and joined the rest of his team.

The four Leaf shinobi gathered and appeared to be talking about something, then they split up and went to each of the defeated enemies. They leaned down and did… Something, then moved on to the next. At the last one, who also happened to be the last to collapse, they leaned down and grabbed him, then took off towards the forest.

Sasuke shifted from his position and nonchalantly murmured, "Now's our chance."

Forcing herself to take a big breath, Sakura nodded slowly. She forced herself out of her crouch and stretched her legs tenderly. Anything to delay the imminent battle…

After a moment of staring at her, Sasuke growled impatiently, "Let's go already…"

She couldn't fight it any longer. This was something she _had _to do. With a sigh, the pinkette murmured, "After you…"

With a short nod, Sasuke took off, his raven hair flying back. Biting her lip, Sakura painfully followed.

It wasn't difficult in the least to track the Leaf patrol. They weren't trying to cover their tracks. They were just trying to get to their camp with their hostage. It probably didn't register to them that someone might try to follow them. After all, they already defeated all of their enemies and no one else should be looking for them.

After a while, it was clear to Sakura that the ninja were going to one of the villages in the area. They must be delivering their captive to this nation's ninja or something. It must have been part of their mission's criteria… With a pang, Sakura thought about having a mission. It would be soon nice to have one from Lady Tsunade again, not this snake-eyed creep who was now her master.

Shino and Kiba entered the village, leaving Naruto and Hinata behind. From the shadows, Sakura watched and listened. She knew Sasuke was nearby, doing the same.

"So… I'm gunna refill my water skin. I'll be back in a bit." With one of his large Naruto smiles, the blonde ninja took off into the forest, leaving a blushing Hinata behind. Sakura silently followed.

It didn't take long for Naruto to arrive at a small clearing in the trees. At the far edge, a creep bubbled down a hill and emptied into a large hill. The rocks next to the creek were mossy, making the place appear really green and fresh. Even the gleaming blades of grass made this a bright place.

Naruto leaned over the stream and pulled out a small worn water skin. He dipped it in the crystal clear water and waited for it to fill.

Now was her chance.

Her heart pounding in her throat, Sakura strolled out of the trees and stood behind Naruto in silence. She could feel Sasuke's onyx eyes burning on her back and knew that he was ready to step out at any moment. She had to do this.

Naruto froze for a moment, as if he sensed that something was wrong. Slowly, he turned his head, those bright blue eyes fixed firmly in Sakura's direction.

And he saw her.

"Sa- Sa- Sakura?!" With a gasp of surprise, the ninja staggered to his feet. His shocked expression changed to one of happy confusion. "What… What are you doing here? I thought you were on your top priority mission… The one in-"

Sakura's death stare cut him off, but it was too late. Naruto had already said too much.

"What mission?"

At the sound of Sasuke's voice, Naruto froze. His joyful confusion changed to shock—and even a touch of horror. "That's…" he whispered hoarsely. "But that's… Sasuke!"

He materialized out of the shadows, looking perfect as ever. The light hit his pale face, illuminating those dark onyx eyes. Strands of his raven hair fell across his forehead. His white shirt parted, revealing some of his muscular chest.

"What mission?" he repeated, eyes firmly on Sakura.

"Sakura… Wha… What's going on?" Naruto stammered, clearly baffled.

But she had nothing to say, allowing her emerald gaze to fall.

Naruto's sharp gaze shifted back to Sasuke. "What's going on?" he asked again, this time a little louder. His hand started to creep over to where he stored his kunai and he tensed.

"Sakura." Sasuke growled.

The pinkette flinched at those words. She knew exactly what he was saying… But how could she do it? How could she bring herself to actually do it?

Blue eyes flickered from one of them to the other. He still looked beyond confused, but slight recognition crossed his face. It was obvious that they were doing… Something. And they were clearly together. But what was really going on?

Emerald, onyx, and azure eyes wavered across the sets of faces. They all were waiting for someone to make a move, to say something.

"What is this?" Naruto tried one more time. But neither answered him.

Sasuke fixed his gaze on Sakura, forcing her to meet his gaze. He crossed his powerful arms and stared at her intently for a moment longer. The kunoichi allowed her gaze to drop and gave a slight nod. She had fought it as long as she could… But now she had to do it.

Naruto watched the exchange silently, trying to gauge what he could from the soundless gestures. His cobalt eyes narrowed and he took a slight step back. Something was wrong.

Closing her eyes painfully, Sakura let out a wheezing breath. She bit her tongue so hard that the salty taste of blood filled her mouth.

Sasuke's eyes flashed red as he activated the sharigan. He was ready for what was to come.

"Oh, Naruto…" Sakura whispered. "I'm… I'm sorry."

Uncertainty crossed the blonde ninja's face for a moment, then was flooded away by shock. But it was too late.

Sakura had already lunged.

* * *

**A/N;** Final chapter I'm adding in my huge "Big 3 Deal" today! (_That was a pathedic name for it...)_

Hope you enjoyed it. I know I enjoyed writing it!

Poor Sakura... She has to kill Naruto... And Sasuke couldn't really care less... I'm such a mean author to do this to a character... *evil grin*

**Got Questions?**

If you're confused on anything at all in the story, feel free to ask! I don't want any confused people walking around. No matter how stupid you think the question is, ask away! After all, the only stupid question is a question not asked. (Don't forget that I have the right to not answer any questions… don't want to give away any surprises I have in the future!)

**Review, if you please!**

I'd really appreciate if you'd review. Tell me what you think I should change, any ideas you have, etc… I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Stay tuned to find out what happens next! Until next time, dear readers!

-Cynder7777


	10. Chapter 10 To Kill a Friend

**Disclaimer; **Don't own Naruto, and I hate to say it, but I never will.

Those of you who jumped here because of my note on the first chapter, there is **not **romance in this one! Try the next one once I update...

This chapter was really painful to write... And I'm not sure how it turned out... But enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 10; To Kill a Friend**

It was too late.

Sakura had already lunged.

Just in time, Naruto skidded to the side and Sakura's clumsy attack missed. He dug his feet into the ground and crouched, trying to grasp what had come over his friend. "Sakura… What?"

The pinkette came to a stop and just stared at Naruto, a deep anguish in her eyes. That had been a clumsy blow, and Sakura knew it. But how was she going to do this? To kill Naruto? She could feel the desperate tears threatening to rise up within her. Biting her tongue firmly, Sakura silently scolded herself. No. Now was not the time to cry.

Naruto grunted in frustration at Sakura's silence. He cast a dark look towards Sasuke, which the missing-nin returned icily. "What the heck is going on?! Why are you with him?! I… I'm so confused!" he basically howled in aggravation.

Neither of the two responded. Sakura just avoided lifting her emerald eyes, while Sasuke continued to glare at Naruto.

With another grunt of aggravation, Naruto turned back to Sakura. "I knew that they'd send some sort of prison guard if he let you out… But him? Sasuke?!" he was about to go on, but the kunoichi's horrified stare silenced him. He realized immediately that he just compromised her mission.

"Sakura," Sasuke hissed dangerously, his black eyes shooting daggers at the pinkette, "it sounds to me like you were captured on purpose… Are you… _Spying?!_"

She didn't say anything, but both men could tell from her eyes that it was true. Sasuke narrowed his eyes furiously, but Sakura knew he wasn't surprised. He had been suspicious of her the entire time. It was only a matter of time until he found out.

"I'm so sorry, Sakura… I just…" Naruto stammered, his blue eyes wide in alarm.

"Don't be. He would have found out sometime," Sakura murmured softly.

Sasuke's hard eyes focused on Naruto again. "You two really are idiots. You really thought that you could play Orochimaru? You have no idea what a huge mistake you made… Sakura, you know what you have to do."

"What? What does Sakura have to do…? What the heck is going on?!"

Shooting a glare of pure rage at Sasuke, Sakura pulled her kunai out of its pouch. She examined the curved blade in her hands for a moment, eyes flaring with pain. Softly, she murmured, "I'm… I'm sorry, Naruto. But… But I have to kill you."

* * *

Hinata fidgeted uneasily. What could be taking Naruto so long? This just didn't seem right…

She glanced at the gate of the village that Shino, Kiba, and Akamaru had gone into. The best thing to do was probably to wait for them to get back. Naruto probably had just gotten lost in the forest of something. Yes. That was all that was going on. Naruto was just being his good old self and stirring up trouble. He'd be fine.

Yet she couldn't shake the deep sense of urgency in the pit of her stomach. _Something_ was wrong…

* * *

Naruto just stared at Sakura in shocked silence. He twitched as if he were going to try to say something, but whatever it was died on his lips. It happened a few more times, but not a word escaped his mouth.

At last, he gasped out, "…Wh… Wh… Why?"

The taste of blood continued to overwhelm Sakura's mouth. If she kept biting down on her tongue like this… "I…" she whimpered, then shrugged off the sudden weakness. "I have to. I just… I have to."

None of that made any more sense to Naruto. He was just all the more confused. "Sakura…?"

She clenched her eyes shut for a moment, then they snapped back open. Tensing, the pinkette lifted her kunai up and stared at Naruto with fiery eyes. _Defend yourself,_ those eyes read.

Once again, she lunged. But this one wasn't half as clumsy as the last one.

Naruto leapt the side, but Sakura was expecting it. She suddenly changed courses with lightning quick speed and the kunai gorged a cut in Naruto's leg. She twisted around the moment her feet felt the ground and was lunged back at the blonde ninja. He jumped up above Sakura and landed on the branch of one of the nearby trees. Staring at her hollowly, he shook his head softly, then turned to run away.

Sasuke appeared right in front of him, those onyx eyes dark and refusing. "This isn't a fight you can run from," Sasuke hissed. He moved extremely quickly and elbowed Naruto in the ribs. Naruto instinctively crumbled down, his hands flying to the painful spot. This allowed Sasuke to deliver a harsh uppercut to the blonde ninja's chin.

Sakura watched in defeated horror as Naruto was tossed back into the clearing. Sasuke wasn't going to let him escape. These two had to fight… To the death.

Cringing, Naruto forced himself to his feet. He was tired from the battle he just fought, and Sasuke hadn't been even slightly gentle with him. Sakura knew that this all should have made her feel better, considering that her odds were improving. But all it did was make her want to throw up.

She could see in those cobalt eyes that he wouldn't hurt her. He couldn't bring himself to… But Sakura couldn't do this if he didn't at least try to fight back.

After a long moment, she surged towards him. Naruto dodged her swipes and rolled out of her way. She followed him and they both skidded around the clearing, moving almost too fast for the other to detect. Sasuke watched coolly from above in the trees.

At last, the two broke apart, panting and exhausted. Sakura flicked her wrist and sent her kunai flying towards her opponent. He dodged and slid to a halt, still breathing heavily.

"Sakura, why are you doing this?!" he asked desperately. "What the heck has happened to you?!"

She closed her eyes and exhaled sharply. "I…"

"Please, Sakura! Tell me!"

"I… I have to kill you, Naruto."

"But why?!"

"To save everyone else."

Before the blonde ninja had the chance to continue asking, Sakura punched the ground forcefully with a chakra strengthened fist. The ground splintered and cracked in the clearing before all of it shattered. Naruto stumbled and fell. A few sharp pieces of rock pierced his arms and legs and the ninja grunted in pain. While he was distracted, Sakura dashed around and appeared behind him. She lifted her fist and rammed it at him. At the last second, Naruto noticed and was scarcely able to dodge the blow. Instead, Sakura's power packed punch crashed into the already shattered ground, causing even more shards to fly in the air.

As the dust settled, Naruto and Sakura stared at each other. The pinkette could see in those pools of blue that the blonde ninja was clueless as to what she meant with what she said.

"Sakura… Why?" he murmured softly, shaking his head ever so slightly. "What do you mean?"

She looked away, rubbing some of the dust and small pieces of debris off her arms. "Because of Orochimaru."

"What do you mean?! Tell me!"

With a bone rattling sigh, Sakura wheezed, "Because if I don't kill you, then he'll kill everyone I care about!"

"What?! But I thought he didn't know about-"

"He doesn't." The kunoichi shook her head softly. "Think about who you're talking about. He doesn't care why I actually joined him… He doesn't care. He wants prove that I'm loyal. And I've seen too much for the answer to be 'no.'"

Naruto fell into shocked silence.

"Don't you get?!" she asked desperately. "Either I have to kill you now… Or he'll kill you later, along with anyone else I care about, anyone else I knew…"

Azure eyes filled with sadness and he murmured, "Yes. I understand." The tall ninja fixed his firm gaze on Sakura. "Go ahead. Do it. Kill me."

It was only getting harder to hold back the tears. "What?! NO! I… I can't!"

"But you said it yourself! You have to!"

"I can't… Not if you just lay down your life for me… Naruto… As strange as it may sound, I can only do this if you fight with all you have… Fight for your dream… To become Hokage."

He fixed his firm gaze on her and whispered, "No. It doesn't sound strange. I'd be the same way…" He stared off into space for a moment, a tearful smile on his lips. "To become Hokage… I suppose that won't be possible after this, huh?"

Sakura sank her teeth into her tongue one more time. No… She wouldn't cry… "I'm so-"

"Save it." Naruto shook his head, his messy blonde hair swinging. He shifted his feet into a battle pose and his arms tensed at his side. "This is something you have to do."

_Thank you, Naruto…_ Sakura blinked slowly. When her eyes opened again, they were hard as steel. "Then let us do this."

* * *

OK. This was taking way too long…

Hinata took a few nervous steps. Naruto had been gone far longer than he should have been… Something was definitely wrong.

_Byakugan! _Hinata scanned the area and saw something that froze her blood.

It was Naruto… And he was clearly fighting someone. She focused a little more to see who exactly it was.

Sakura?!

_Naruto and Sakura are battling?!_ The kunoichi watched through her kekkei genkai as the two ninjas attacked each other. She sucked in her breath. _What could be going on?!_

Without a second thought, Hinata raced towards the location on the battle.

* * *

Sakura and Naruto leapt towards each other and met in the center, their blades gleaming as they clashed. Sparks flew in both of their faces. They parted once again, eyes flashing like the flying sparks.

Both skidded back several feet, staring at each other with anguish. Each had a few cuts on their arms from poor blocking skills, but even the stinging pain didn't seem to be enough to wake Sakura from this nightmare. She fought the urge to glance at Sasuke, who was watching the entire battle with limited interest. He would much rather be training with Orochimaru to learn all sorts of new evil tricks for his already-tough-to-beat jutsu. Just thinking about that sent another pang of red-hot anger through Sakura's heart. That was probably a good thing… She needed anger to do this, or she wouldn't be able to bring herself to follow through…

Naruto glanced over at Sasuke too, the dark anger in his eyes mirroring what the kunoichi felt in her heart. "Why would you do this, Sasuke?" he called out, gripping his kunai tightly. "Why?"

The dark ninja said nothing, only gazing down at them, his blue-tinted hair cascading down into his onyx eyes. His refusal to say anything only angered Naruto. He was clearly frustrated.

Sakura narrowed her eyes coolly, shifting her grip on her kunai. "Don't try and talk to him, Naruto," she murmured. "That traitor couldn't care any less about this."

His blue eyes flicked to her for a moment as if to acknowledge her words, but he quickly returned his gaze to Sasuke.

Fighting back a sigh, Sakura suddenly hurled her kunai at Naruto. He caught the movement out of the corner of his eye and ducked, the blade barely soaring above him. While he was distracted, Sakura raced in and swung up at his jaw with her one of her powerful punches. The blonde ninja was barely able to move his head out of the way, and her fist grazed his hair rather than delivering a devastating blow. Using the momentum from his movement, Naruto swiped out with a leg to trip Sakura. She, however, was use to dodging attacks, so she was able to move well out of the way with ease.

They both separated, panting. About half of Sakura's chakra was gone; even less of Naruto's she was sure. This battle wouldn't go on forever… And it seemed doubtful that the pinkette could win.

Naruto looked at her for a moment, then pressed his hands together and formed a couple of signs. "Shadow clone jutsu!" he called, and in a burst of smoke, an exact replica of Naruto appeared. One of them, presumably the real one, put out his hand. The other started slapping the air in a circle around his hand. Blue swirls of chakra started whirling in the air around his open palm. It formed a glowing orb of pure chakra energy formed in his hand.

_Rasengan! _Naruto's shadow clone disappeared and he started running towards Sakura, holding his chakra orb behind him slightly. Sakura narrowed her eyes and watched him as he grew closer and closer. As he drew to within feet, the blonde shot his hand forward, the blue sphere pressed tightly to his palm. At the last moment, the kunoichi dove to the side and rolled across the demolished ground. The rasengan attack missed and instead of finding its target, it—along with Naruto—crashed into a tree.

By the time he had spun back around, Sakura was already lunging towards him. She drove her fist straight for his gut. The ninja barely had the chance to dodge. After exchanging a series of blows, the two broke apart once again.

This was taking far too long. If this kept up… Then someone would find them out her, battling it out in the woods. Sakura heaved deep, ragged breaths, losing hope quickly.

But it seemed Sasuke was a step ahead. He, up in the trees, made a flurry of hand signs and sucked in a breath. _Fire Style; Fireball Jutsu!_ An arch of flame erupted from his mouth and surged down towards Naruto. While he was busy trying to avoid getting a burn, Sakura saw her chance. She leapt forward and punched him in the side once and the stomach the second time before falling away. The blonde ninja crashed painfully and forced himself to his feet, spitting up a mouthful of blood. Those two blows had clearly done a lot of damage.

As he was gasping to regain his breath, Sakura came in from behind. She let all of her building anger out in the next blow, sending her fist surging down towards Naruto's head. But at the last second, he slid to the side and instead of finding her target, Sakura ended up sending even more shards and debris up into the dust filled air.

After spitting up one last mouthful of blood, Naruto forced himself to his feet. One of his hands still gripped his stomach tenderly, but it was clear that Naruto was ready to keep on fighting. He formed the same signs as before and a group of shadow clones appeared once again; this time six appeared. Five out of the seven Narutos rushed towards Sasuke, but with little effort he was able to destroy all of them with his sword. The other two, however, started to make another rasengan.

When at last the attack was created, the clone Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke, while the real one started to run towards Sakura. She tensed and watched him silently, already planning her next move. When he was close enough that his arm shot out towards her, Sakura dove down to the ground and kicked her legs out towards him. A look of surprise crossed his face as he started to fall. But he wouldn't let his attack be wasted. The hand that held the rasengan surged toward her shoulder. Searing pain showed that it had successfully grazed her arm, but not too much damage had been done. Naruto crashed down on Sakura—after all, she had tripped him. But instead of just allowing herself to be squished, the pinkette drove her elbow up and it met with his sternum. He gasped painfully, giving Sakura a chance to push him off of her.

Naruto spat up some more blood as he stood on his hands and knees, trembling. When he lifted his head, those azure eyes dug into Sakura and she felt a painful twist in her gut. _How can I be doing this to him?!_ She silently wailed.

* * *

Hinata fought the horrified gasp as she crouched in the bushes, watching the horrific battle in front of her. Sakura was just climbing to her feet, blood pouring down her arm and dripping off her fingers. Naruto, however, was still on his hands and knees, fighting to breath. Watching him like this… Hinata could hardly fight the urge to jump in and try and protect him.

Seeing Sasuke up in the trees reminded her why she mustn't interfere. Hinata stared up towards him, the leafy branches scratching at her arms and face and hindering her vision. What was going on? Why was Sakura doing this? How is Sasuke, a traitorous outlaw, involved? All of these questions swirled in the 17-year-old's mind.

Naruto pulled himself to his feet and pulled out another kunai. Sakura did the same and they both stared at each other, neither wanting to make the next move. This was all so strange for Hinata. If Sakura didn't want to do this, then why the heck was she? Is that why Sasuke's watching from the trees? Perhaps Sakura has to prove herself to Sasuke… But why would she actually do this?

A loud boom made the watching kunoichi flinch. She tucked a strand of her long midnight blue hair behind her ear and glanced up. The once clear blue sky was filled with dark, stormy clouds. They were in for a huge storm…

As Hinata leveled her gaze back on the two who had started battling once more, a few solitary drops of water started to fall from the sky. It may seem cliché, but it was starting to rain over this dark battle.

* * *

Sakura slashed with her kunai and Naruto did the same. Both leapt and weaved around across the shattered ground while still clashing against the other. This deadly dance continued on with each side quickly receiving cuts and gashes on arms, legs, faces, torsos… Scarlet blood dripped down and splattered on the crumbled rocks below.

At last, the two broke apart, gasping. Sakura had several deep cuts on her arms, one on her stomach, one on her right leg, and a nasty gash across her forehead. Naruto had similar cuts on his arms, a light graze on his chest, one over his left eye and one on his right cheek. Both felt almost dead tired, although Sakura had a feeling that Naruto wasn't near as exhausted as she was. He had to be holding back… Naruto wouldn't lose so easily. But he was fighting back enough to keep Sakura busy and to keep her from thinking to hardly about that.

A drop of gleaming water fell down and splashed on Sakura's nose. She jerked in surprise and scanned the sky. What had once been a gleaming light blue sky without a sign of cloud was now a deep rolling mass of black and dark grey clouds. Blinking slowly, the pinkette lowered her head as more drops of liquid streaked down around her. How ironic that the weather decided to match her mood…

Naruto lifted his hand and wiped a bit of blood away from his eye. Sakura watched silently. _If I can wound him on one of his legs…_ she mused, _then he'll be slowed down and I'll stand a greater chance._ It sickened her to be thinking such thoughts about her friend, but there wasn't anything she could do right now. _I have to do this._

They stared at each other for a moment. At last, Sakura feinted a lunge. Her opponent fell for it and dashed to the side, where Sakura was really aiming. A moment too late, he realized her plan and tried to move out of the way, but Sakura's blade moved to fast. The sharp kunai sand into Naruto's calf and created a deep gash that instantly started gushing blood. Pain flashed across his face and that leg crumbled, refusing to take on his full weight. But Naruto was a ninja; he was use to having injuries like this. It wasn't that difficult for him to roll away from Sakura, closing her window of attack.

But the wound did its purpose. Naruto speed had been cut in at least half. The pinkette knew this the moment he staggered again to his feet. With the blood dripping from his cuts and the rigid pain in which he was carrying himself, Naruto seemed so rugged and worn. Sakura's heart twisted at the sight of him like this. She may not love him, romantically, but they had been through a lot together in the last few years. Seeing a partner like this in pain was bad enough; knowing she caused it was even worse, but what really topped it was knowing that she could heal him and yet not doing it. This made her feel completely despicable. _I really am turning into an outlaw, _she sulked to herself in ashamed horror.

She almost started healing her own wounds with her medical ninjutsu, but stopped herself when she saw again the pain Naruto was in. _I can't just heal my scratches and be done with it… Not like this… I need this pain. If I don't have it, I can't do this._

After a few more ragged pants, Naruto lunged forward at Sakura. She was able to easily sidestep and avoid his clumsy attack. That wound really had turned things for her. He could hardly move, it hurt so much.

This was the perfect chance.

Sakura quietly stepped forward towards him, holding her kunai firmly in her hand. She paused as he swiped half-heartedly at her with his own weapon, but it was a weak attempt. The kunoichi just continued on, keeping her eyes fixed firmly on her target.

When she was close enough, Naruto punched straight for her face. Snapping out her arm, the pinkette caught his blow in her hand and tightened her grip on his arm. Taking her kunai, she sent the blade straight for Naruto's chest. He yanked his arm out of her grasp and moved just enough that the blade, instead of hitting a vital point, dug deeply into his shoulder. Before Sakura had time to react, he slammed his side into her and sent her sprawling across the tattered ground. She felt the sharp rocks dig into her stomach and a pinprick of blood started to ooze out from several locations. Gritting her teeth, the pinkette lifted her head and saw Naruto making a sign despite the aggravating pain. With a puff of smoke, another shadow clone appeared. Naruto stuck out his hand, wincing at the pain it rigged. The shadow clone started making another rasengan. The moment it was done, the clone disappeared and Naruto raced toward where Sakura laid.

There was no chance to run… So Sakura did the only thing she could. She grabbed a rather large shard of rock and lifted it up to act as her shield. There was limited chance that this would stop the powerful attack… But it would weaken it enough so that Sakura could take the blow and still relent while Naruto was weakened.

With a deep grinding noise, the rasengan broke through the piece of rock. But the half a second it took to get through gave Sakura enough time to shift her weight just enough. The rasengan still met its target. It just didn't hit where Naruto was aiming. It hit her in her upper arm.

The searing pain was tremendous. Sakura cried aloud in agony for a moment, then clenched her teeth and, using her other hand, gripped her kunai. That blade in her hand went straight for Naruto's stomach.

A sickening thud echoed as the blade hit its target.

Naruto happened to spit up a mouthful of blood on Sakura before collapsing next to her. His wheezing breath was the only sound, other than the pinkette's beating heart. She just weakly sat up and looked over at Naruto in horror.

The blonde ninja forced his fingers over to a kunai from early, which conveniently had landed there sometime during the fight. He gripped the knife and whispered hoarsely, "Sakura… I won't go down so easily…" Slowly, he forced himself up enough so that he could use the kunai. Lifting his arm, he pointed the blade at Sakura.

She didn't move. She just stared at him, frozen with shock. Nothing could bring her to move. _Naruto…_

He pushed himself up to his knees weakly and looked at her, his azure eyes gleaming with pain. The kunai trembled in his hand, probably from heartache as much as from physical pain. "Sakura… Don't make me do this…"

Not a word escaped from her. She just watched, the rain streaking down her face, soaking her to the bone. Inside her, there was no will to keep fighting. This was just too much…

Naruto lifted his hand with the kunai. Sakura knew that he wouldn't kill her. He'd probably just knock her unconscious or something… But even if she wanted to, the pinkette couldn't have moved. Her body was just in too much shock. Sakura just closed her eyes.

_Clang!_

Her eyes snapped open to see Sasuke right in front of her, his long sword blocking Naruto's blade. By Naruto's pained gasp, she could tell he was surprised too. The dark ninja turned his head enough to look at her with onyx eyes and blink slowly before fixing his gaze on Naruto again. A flurry of lightning quick slashes and it was over.

"Naruto!" Sakura was instantly unfrozen. She couldn't hold it in… Not any longer. She couldn't just watch this happen. The kunoichi shoved Sasuke out of her way, although the rogue didn't fight. He landed smoothly on the ground next to her and watched coolly as she hovered over the blonde ninja's body. Her sopping wet hair hung down in her face in large, pink strands, blocking out some of her already limited vision.

Sakura's lip trembled as she gazed at the deep gashes across Naruto's body. She was a medical ninja. She knew that if Naruto didn't get care right now, he wouldn't make it. He would be dead.

Those gleaming azure eyes opened weakly. "Sa… Sa… Sakura," Naruto wheezed weakly. "I understand… I understand why you had to do this…" His ragged breathing slowed with each gasped word. "Whatever you do… Make sure that you are… Happy."

The tears that she had fought back all this time finally broke loose and ran rampant down her face. The rain continued to pour on the ragged two. Blood continued to ooze from the wounds. "I'm… I'm sorry," Sakura choked out through the sadness.

A slight smile stretched across Naruto's face. And those bright, gleaming cobalt eyes closed.

* * *

**A/N;** This chapter was really hard to write... Especially the last part... I hope it was good...

I really hope that the battle wasn't too long or anything like that... It feels to me like it just went on _forever_... But I don't want to change it... Please, share your thoughts on it! I really would love to hear them!

**Got Questions?**

If you're confused on anything at all in the story, feel free to ask! I don't want any confused people walking around. No matter how stupid you think the question is, ask away! After all, the only stupid question is a question not asked. (Don't forget that I have the right to not answer any questions… don't want to give away any surprises I have in the future!)

**Review, if you please!**

I'd really appreciate if you'd review. Tell me what you think I should change, any ideas you have, etc… I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Next chapter will have a bit of, well, romance! Have a great day!

-Cynder7777


	11. Chapter 11 Regrets

**Disclaimer; **I very much don't own Naruto... Despite how much I want to.

Sorry for the wait... But here's the chapter now! Little bit of romance for you romance lovers. :)

* * *

**Chapter 11; Regrets**

The last gleam of blue light disappeared as his eyelids closed. Naruto grew unnaturally still.

This was too much for Sakura. She instantly put a trembling hand over his body and it started to glow a light greenish blue.

"Sakura, no!" Sasuke snapped and lunged forward, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her away. She didn't fight his sudden attack and just fell back on the rugged terrain, eyes wide and full of horror. Uchiha moved himself between the two, glaring down at his teammate.

Sakura fought a wail and scrambled back to her feet, racing back towards Naruto. She tried to pass Sasuke, but he just stuck out a muscular arm to block her path. His black eyes stayed fixed firmly on her face as he pushed her back.

"No!" she cried as she tried again to surpass him. But in this crazed state, the pinkette was hardly a challenge for Sasuke to keep away from Naruto. Despite this, she just kept trying. Sasuke had to admit that she was adamant, but this was quickly growing annoying. She just kept coming, that wild horror burning in those emerald green eyes.

Sasuke pushed her back once again, eyes narrowed. She fell and stared up at him. Blood was trickling down her face from the wound on her forehead and coated her entire right arm from where the rasegan hit. If anything, no matter the size, even brushed against that arm, he could see the agony in her eyes. That was a nasty wound, but she seemed like she couldn't care less.

"Sasuke! Please!" she cried again, hurling herself against his strong body. She pounded weakly against him, tears streaking down her face. Her rain soaked hair hung in a tangled mess down her scratched up face, strands of it flying in the way of her pained eyes. "If I don't, he'll die!" She crumbled like a frail leaf into Sasuke's arms, sobbing.

A sharp pain struck Sasuke in his chest, right where his heart was. For a moment, he thought he had been stabbed, but the pain wasn't the same… It wasn't physical. It was mental. _What is wrong with me? _He scolded himself. _Why do I feel like this? _Aloud, he spoke in his indifferent tone. "Sakura, you were supposed to kill him anyway. I've already defied Orochimaru by letting you leave him in this state. I've already done too much for you." He sent her a hard glare, but it crumbled at the sight of that tear stricken face.

"Please," she whimpered, her eyes drifting shut. Her body slumped in Sasuke's strong arms. The rogue exhaled sharply and picked her up lightly. It was almost alarming how light the young kunoichi was in his arms. For a moment, he just stared at her pale form, so frail in his grasp. Then those onyx eyes shifted to Naruto. He felt strangely indifferent; not in his normal way. This was almost… Like he was sad that this had to happen.

A thunderous boom shook Sasuke from his thoughts. Lifting his head, the ninja looked up at the ominous clouds, heaving their liquid down on the world below. The drops were only falling harder. This storm was dangerous. In no way would this be a good storm for anyone to stay out in. Sasuke had to get Sakura out of this tempest. With the amount of blood she's lost… He needed to get her to someplace warm and dry and to try and patch her up. Of course, she was the medical ninja. It's always the medical ninja who gets hurt.

Taking her into his arms, Sasuke scanned the area real quickly with his sharigan. He noticed someone watching from the bushes, but it only took him a second to identify this person as Hinata Hyuga. Nothing to worry about there… But if she, one of the Leaf shinobi, was here, then that must mean that others are here too. Time to exit the scene, and quickly.

Sasuke stared—hard—at where Hinata was hiding to let her know that she was noticed. He could have sworn he heard a soft gasp but the ninja didn't stick around to find out. With Sakura in his arms, Uchiha turned and dashed off into the squall.

* * *

Her breath caught in her throat as those cruel red eyes fixed firmly on the bushes that sheltered Hinata from the enemy just a few steps away. She stayed perfectly still, barely daring to breathe until he was gone.

The moment that she could, the kunoichi burst out of the undergrowth and scrambled over to Naruto. She frantically grabbed some of the cloth bandages that she stored in her bags and pressed them to his worst wounds, hoping to stop the bleeding.

"Naruto!" she whispered hoarsely, running a soft hand down his cheek. "Hang in there, Naruto…" She leaned down over him, her long bluish black hair brushing his face. "Just hang in there…"

_Why? Why would Sakura do this? What the heck is going on?!_

* * *

The strong scent of wet dog overcame the two ninjas standing in the rain, just on the edge of a village.

"Akamaru! Any luck?" one of the two called, his slick brown hair hanging heavy and wet on his brow.

Several loud barks responded to the call, coming from somewhere in the forest.

The other ninja, whose face was well covered by a light green hood, turned to face his companion. "Well, Kiba? Does Akamaru know where they went?"

Kiba nodded, his slit black eyes gleaming. "It's this way. He picked up the scent over here."

The two started running towards the origin of the loud barks.

As they ran, Kiba mused, "I wonder why they left… Well, Naruto is no surprise. But Hinata? She normally would wait for us…"

"Think about it."

After a moment of silence, Kiba snorted. "Oh, duh. Naruto and Hinata. That makes sense… But why haven't they come back yet, Shino?"

Shino sighed. "I'm sure they're fine. But we'll find out when we get there."

The two quickly pulled up to the large dog that was waiting. His creamy white fur hung down in wet spikes, glistening with the rain. He tossed his head and let out a short bark, eyes gleaming.

"Akamaru, run on ahead. Find Naruto and Hinata. We'll catch up." Kiba commanded.

A soft whine escaped the dog.

"Go on, boy. We don't want to lose the scent."

The canine blinked, then spun around and dashed off deeper in the forest.

After exchanging a silent glance, the two ninja followed.

Silence echoed around them. Only the soft _pitter-patter_ of the rain filled the air.

A sharp howl shattered the mesmerizing splatter of rain.

Both ninjas glanced towards each other.

"Akamaru… Found something," Kiba shouted over to Shino. But despite his strong exterior, inside Kiba was feeling jittery. There was something in Akamaru's howl… Something that suggested that they wouldn't like what they found.

This dark suspicion was proved right when they arrived at the clearing. Akamaru stood in the shadows of the trees, his soaked pelt ruffled in alarm. His head twisted around and with a whimper, he gazed at his master. Both ninjas gasped at what they saw.

The clearing was covered in shattered shards of rock, all heaped up and piled everywhere. Branches of some of the surrounding trees were scattered on the edges of the clearing. A stream on the far edge was overflowing from all of the rain, sending water surging down further into the forest. It looked like a tornado had torn through here and ripped the place to shreds. But the most alarming part was the blood.

Drops of it were scattered across the tattered battlefield, somehow untouched by the rain. Some of the larger, sharper rocks had their tips coated in it. But what really grabbed the attention of Shino, Kiba, and Akamaru was the dangerously large pool of blood in one relatively flat part of the clearing. There was no body or anything else, but nothing could have survived losing that much blood.

Kiba stared at it, hardly believing what the scene suggested. His dog padded over and nudged his hand, whimpering softly. They stared together at the horrific sight.

Shino stepped silently out into the clearing, making sure not to misstep on the treacherous ground. He neared the pool of deep red, his emotions hidden behind his dark glasses. He turned back to Kiba and called in his monotone voice, "Well?"

_How… How could this have happened? _Kiba silently howled in his head as he made his way over to the morbid pool. He crouched near it and inhaled. "This place reeks of Naruto… There's no doubt that this is his blood." He moved a little bit, then paused. "Right here, I can smell a trace of Hinata. No doubt that she tried to… To save him." He closed his eyes for a moment to try and gather his emotions. "You know how she felt towards Naruto. She wouldn't have thought twice about sacrificing her life for him…" Kiba choked out.

Shino nodded and murmured in a voice traced with sorrow, "Anything else you can find to suggest who might have done this to them?"

"Hold on." Kiba moved around a little, circling the pool of blood. Closing his eyes, the ninja inhaled sharply. He jumped slightly and his eyes snapped open. Shaking his head in confusing, he gulped in the air once more. A look of alarm crossed his face."

"What is it?" Shino asked calmly.

"Impossible! This… This just can't be! How the heck…"

"What is it?" Shino repeated.

Kiba turned and faced his teammate. "They're two other scents here; one's far stronger than the other. But I can hardly believe either of them."

"Who is it?"

"The faint one… I'm not completely positive… But it smells like… Like Sasuke Uchiha." Before Shino had a chance to say anything, Kiba added, "He wasn't the one fighting Naruto, at least, not half as much as the other person. He's scent is too scarce. Uchiha may have been assisting the first person, but he wasn't the main one in this battle."

"Sasuke, huh?" Shino mused. "That isn't too surprising…"

With a snort, Kiba growled, "The next one is. I know I can't be mistaken on this. Her scent is far too heavy for me to be confused. It's her, without a doubt."

"Her?"

"Yes. As outrageous at it sounds, the one who attacked Naruto… It was… It…" He shook his head and snapped, "It was Sakura Haruno!"

* * *

Sasuke gazed up at the never ending rain, his eyes narrowed. From the shelter cave where he was laying low, the outlaw could see well out into the storming forest. If anyone was remotely close to them, he could see them with his sharigan. Here in this forest cave, they would be safe until the storm settled down.

Turning, Sasuke gazed back over to where Sakura was now sleeping. Her hard sobbing had eventually died down to a low murmur, and just a few minutes ago the fatigue overwhelmed her and the kunoichi fell into a deep sleep. Sasuke had done all he could for numerous wounds that covered her body from the difficult battle. There was nothing more for him to do, so he let her sleep.

Gazing back out into the rain, Sasuke allowed his thoughts to drift. Of course, they found their way to the pink-haired girl behind him. Seeing her in such angst… Why did it make his heart twist up and leave him with a sick feeling in his stomach? He had always been good at keeping emotionless and cold, yet this one girl made him feel so… Strange.

_What is going on with me?!_

* * *

It seemed so impossible, but both Shino and Kiba knew that it was true. Everything they found pointed to Sakura as the culprit.

The clearing reeked of her scent. They had found small pieces of pink hair around the area. Weapons that greatly resembled the weapons Sakura tended to use were scattered throughout the battleground. All the evidence was there. Haruno had been the one to do this.

Despite how hard they searched, Shino, Kiba, and Akamaru found not a trace of Hinata or of Naruto. Even with all their resources, neither could find the slightest hint of what happened to them, or if they were dead or alive. But despite their desperate hopes, the huge quantity of blood suggested the former. But it seemed all of the blood belonged to Naruto or Sakura, based off of Akamaru's nose. Not any of it seemed to come from Hinata… Whatever that meant.

Kiba stared down at the ground uneasily. It was hard to swallow that Naruto and Hinata were… Were probably gone.

"Kiba." Shino's voice snapped the ninja out of his thoughts.

"Huh?" He turned, his shaggy brown hair hanging down from the rain.

"Is there absolutely no sign of any of them still here, am I correct?"

Lowering his head, Kiba nodded. "Not a trace of where any of them could have gone. It's like they all just disappeared."

"Then the only thing for us to do is to head back to the Hidden Leaf as quickly as possible. Lady Tsunade must hear this news."

With a gruff nod, Kiba and Akamaru followed Shino as the three took off towards the Hidden Leaf.

* * *

_Pitter, patter. Pitter, patter._

The endless rain drummed on outside. But Sasuke paid little attention to the falling droplets. He sighed, lost in a world of thought.

_Pitter, patter. Pitter, patter._

The sooner this storm was over, the sooner Sasuke could get out of this desolate forest. The sooner he could…

A soft groan sounded behind him. Sakura was finally awake.

Without looking, Sasuke heard the soft rustle of fabric and knew that Sakura was sitting up. She yawned quietly.

"Well?" he bluntly said, keeping his eyes fixed on the stormy grey clouds.

"Well what?" she murmured in a hoarse voice. Sasuke turned his head ever so slightly and gazed back at her from the corner of his eye. She was sitting there, looking shallowly at the ground, tears brimming in her eyes once again. She looked so frail…

"Are you good enough to go?"

"I…" An extremely long pause ended the conversation. They both sat in silence for a moment; the only sound was the echoing pound of rain.

After a few minutes of this uncomfortable silence, Sasuke turned and looked at her coolly, only to see the kunoichi with her face buried in her hands. Tears streamed down her cheeks and dripped down to the stone ground.

What happened next wasn't something that happened consciously. It just happened of its own accord.

Sasuke leaned over and wrapped his strong arms around Sakura's chest, pulling her close. Her head shot up, exposing her puffy red eyes, still streaming with tears, to the cold air. Sasuke just held her for a moment, offering silent comfort. His firm arms held her tight in a soothing embrace, strong and stable against her trembling body. And she didn't resist. The pinkette just allowed him to hold her.

And then the moment was over.

Sasuke pulled away and turned back towards the rain, his eyes cast down towards the ground below them. He said nothing, unmoving as ever. Sakura breathed slowly, her emerald gaze plastered to his back, but she didn't say anything either. She just stared in confused wonder at the handsome man who sat in front of her, acting as if it had never happened. Slowly, her gaze fell down to the floor as the young kunoichi gave into the overwhelming exhaustion that threatened to overtake her mind another time. She just wasn't ready to face reality yet.

Her breathing slowed dramatically, and Sasuke could tell that she was fast asleep once again. But he was nowhere near that. As he stared out into the rain, his mind raced.

_I… I… _The ninja tried to come to terms with the conflicting emotions that tore through his heart. That single embrace had felt so… so _good._ He couldn't explain it. It just did.

But his restless mind finally came to a halt on one conclusion. As much as it pained him to realize this, he knew with all his heart that it was completely true. There was not tricking himself. Seeing her in this agony had proved it all.

_I… I love her._

_ And she hates me._

* * *

**A/N;** Apologies for the wait... I didn't mean for it to take so long to get this chapter out there. It just happened that way. Hope I stayed true to the characters in this chapter... My first attempt of any real romance in basically any of my stories. Sasuke is hard to write about romantically... Please let me know if there's something you think I can do to make it better.

On the first chapter, I said that I might choose to be kind to people who want to just jump to the romance and skip the rest... If having a quick summary at the start of this chapter sounds appealing to you, please tell me somehow! I really want to know what people think!

**Got Questions?**

If you're confused on anything at all in the story, feel free to ask! I don't want any confused people walking around. No matter how stupid you think the question is, ask away! After all, the only stupid question is a question not asked. (Don't forget that I have the right to not answer any questions… don't want to give away any surprises I have in the future!)

**Review, if you please!**

I'd really appreciate if you'd review. Tell me what you think I should change, any ideas you have, etc… I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks for reading! No idea when the next chapter will be out... But while you wait, have an amazing day!

-Cynder7777


	12. Chapter 12 Reality Strikes

**Disclaimer; **I do not own Naruto. Sadly, I never will. Even if it went up for sale, I couldn't come up with enough money to buy it even if I had 3 years to collect the money... So much for that dream. :(

I want say **a huge thanks **to all my reviewers, followers, and/or favoriters(is that even a word?)! You have no idea how much even something as small as a review means to me! Heck, even a view means a ton! Thanks so much for making it this far in my story! I honestly never believed I'd make it this far... Hopefully you've enjoyed it as much as I have!

Hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 12; Reality Strikes**

The two ninja paused at the entrance of the Hidden Leaf, gasping for breath. They had come as quickly as possible to deliver the dark news. Exchanging a glance, they both broke into a desperate dash for the Hokage Residence, where Lady Tsunade was waiting.

Tearing through town without bothering to respond to any of the citizens calling out to them for whatever reason, the two ninjas arrived at the building in a matter of minutes. They continued their dash and darted inside to find the Fifth Hokage.

"Lady Hokage!" Kiba yowled as he burst in the door, Akamaru close at his side. Shino was only a few paces behind him.

Tsunade turned, her brown eyes filled with a mix of annoyance and curiosity. Those eyes widened when she realized who it was. "Shino? Kiba? What are you doing here?! How are you back from your mission so early? Where are Hinata and Naruto?"

Kiba acted as if he were about to respond, but only broke into a fit of panting, just like Akamaru. He just didn't have enough breath to share the news.

Shino was able to get enough air sooner. "Lady Tsunade… We have something tragic to report…"

The Hokage's eyes widened. _No… They can't mean… No, it has to be something else… _"What is it?!"

"Naruto and Hinata… They've both disappeared."

"Disappeared?!" _Please tell me it isn't the Akatsuki… Or someone else who wants the Nine Tail's Power…_

"And…" Kiba added, "There was a lot of Naruto's blood at the scene… Far more than someone alive could afford to lose…"

_What?! Naruto is dead?! _"Is there any chance he could have survived?!"

Kiba hesitated, then murmured, "Doubtful. Really, really doubtful."

Tsunade glanced away. _No… Not another one… _She shivered at the memory of the other two she had cared about, who had been torn away from her. Her kid brother and her lover… Those two had shared a dream with Naruto; to be Hokage one day. She had truly believed that Naruto could do it…

"Uh, Lady Tsunade? That isn't the worst of it," Kiba said softly. Behind him, Akamaru whimpered.

This caught the Hokage's attention. "What do you mean, _not the worst of it_?!"

Shino interjected there. "There was one other main scent that Kiba found at the scene. And it belonged to Sakura Haruno."

* * *

Sakura slowly came to. She blinked the sleep out of her eyes and yawned. Pulling herself to her knees, the pinkette glanced around.

She was still in the cave. Outside, she could see the silhouettes of the trees through the misty rain. And next to the opening sat Sasuke Uchiha, staring out into the rain.

His muscular form was only that against the rain; a form. His back was to her. Any part of his face was blocked by his raven hair. Perfectly motionless, Sakura couldn't help but wonder if he had been turned to stone. But if she listened carefully, she could hear his steady breathing through the pounding of the rain.

"You're awake." His words pierced through the silence around them.

"Yup." Sakura responded. She shakily drew herself to her feet, fighting the sorrow that swelled in her heart. Leaning against the wall, she gazed at his silent back. "When are we leaving?" she quietly asked.

"Once the rain lightens up."

She nodded, although he wouldn't be able to see it. As she thought about it, the fact that it was raining made perfect sense. They were extremely close to the Land of Rain, where it always, well, _rained._ It was surprising that there had been a dry spell at all. Rain shouldn't have been unexpected.

"Why can't we go now?" Sakura grumbled. This cave was giving her claustrophobia with how stuffy it was… She just wanted to go back home… Or at least her new home. Waiting wasn't her friend right now.

Bluntly, he stated, "Because you could use the rest."

"I feel fine! Let's go already. We might as well take advantage of the weather; few will be out in the insufferable rain." Sakura responded hotly.

"At least heal yourself a little first," he murmured distantly. Sakura couldn't help but feel irked towards his aloofness. He was treating her like a little child. But the pinkette didn't argue and just set herself to the busying task of healing the wounds she had received during the battle.

The moment that she done healing her scratches and bruises from the brutal battle, Sakura shot to her feet. She was ready to get the heck out of this place. But a wave of light-headedness washed over her, making her feel nauseous. Apparently she had a lot less chakra than she thought…

Shaking the feeling away, Sakura took a few wobbly steps. She glanced over at Sasuke, hoping that he hadn't noticed her exhaustion. He would surely make her stay and rest… But the dark ninja hadn't even moved an inch. He sat there silently, a silhouette against the endless downpour outside.

"Done. Let's go!" Sakura told him. She had regained her footing and was adjusting to the queasiness she was feeling. Hopefully he wouldn't really notice…

Without a word, he stood up and turned to face her. His black eyes gleamed coldly at her like twin shards of shadow. "Then let's go back to Orochimaru."

"Oh… Right…" Sakura trailed off, realizing just what she would get to come home to.

Without another word, Sasuke turned and stepped out into the rain. In a matter of seconds he was thoroughly soaked, his raven hair hanging down in heavy spikes. But not even the icy rain could change those cold eyes of his.

Sakura took a step uneasily towards him. "Wait, Sasuke? Can… Can we do something before going back?" she murmured quietly.

Uchiha hesitated, then growled, "What?"

"Can… Can we go back to Konoha? Just really quickly… But I just want to know… Uh…"

His icy gaze softened the slightest bit, barely enough to be noticed. "To see if they realize what happened; to see the effect of your actions."

She nodded hesitantly, her emerald gaze on the ground. Her soft pink hair hung down in her face.

After an uneasy pause, Sasuke grunted, "Hn." But Sakura knew it was his way of saying 'yes'.

"Thanks…" she murmured, puzzling why he would agree to something like this. He didn't seem as unbearable as she thought him to be… With a shake of her head, the pinkette dismissed those thoughts. No. He was a rogue who had tried to kill her countless times; he had proven to be a danger to her home town on numerous occasions and didn't give a thought to the wellbeing of his old friends. Now wasn't the time to be thinking such soft thoughts.

He said nothing and turned back to the rain. Without another word, the two ninjas raced off into the mist downpour and headed out in the direction of Konoha.

* * *

The announcement had pained every inch of her, but the Fifth Hokage had to do her duty. She had to protect this village in which she loved and inform them of what had happened.

Now the entire village knew the truth; Sakura Haruno had betrayed the village by killing their hero, Naruto Uzumaki. She had become a rogue and was to be captured at any cost, regardless of whatever excuses she made. And if necessary, every shinobi had the order to kill her.

But every part of Lady Tsunade screamed that there had to be some mistake. Sakura, her sweet apprentice, a rogue? It didn't make any sense! But she knew not to doubt the nose of an Inuzuka. That clan knew its tracking skills. If Kiba and Akamaru had smelled Sakura there, then she was there, without a doubt.

Silently, the Hokage prayed that they wouldn't have to kill her. If she could just talk to Sakura to find out why… It wouldn't excuse the kunoichi's crime, but it would settle some of the uneasy in the Hokage's heart.

But she had other matters to attend to, like explaining to the Hyuga clan what happened to their leader's oldest daughter. They were outraged by the word of what happened, not to mention heartbroken. Hinata had proven to her entire clan that she really was the rightful heir of the clan. Her father had doubted her because she had been too weak, even rejecting her as clan heir and selecting her younger sister take her place. But Hinata wouldn't give up; she continued to grow strong by training furiously with her cousin Neji. At last, the clan had accepted her once again as the rightful heir, only to lose her now.

Of course, Neji Hyuga had come right away and demanded to know exactly what happened. When he heard of what happened to Sakura, he demanded that he be put on the team that would hunt her down. Lady Tsunade said she would consider the request, since she hadn't created the team yet, but said nothing more.

Now, the second day of knowing the stressful news was drawing to a close. With a deep sigh, the Fifth Hokage reached for her bottle of sake. She took a sip, allowing the liquid to flow down her throat, before setting the bottle back down.

What sort of a mess was Sakura in to get her to actually kill Naruto? What could have happened? Silently, the kunoichi cursed her luck. Why had she been foolish enough to send her apprentice in? What the heck did Orochimaru do? Too many questions with no answers. It was all the Hokage could do to keep from screeching her frustration to the sky.

But doing that wouldn't do anything to help the situation. She was swimming in her frustration and exhaustion. The Sakura-retrieval team would have to wait until tomorrow. So Tsunade just took another regretful gulp of her sake.

* * *

It felt so _good_ to be out of the rain at last… But Sakura still didn't feel any better about where she was going.

Here, at the edges of Konoha, she lurked with her partner. Why she was waiting she didn't know. But she couldn't bring herself to come any closer. To actually enter the village was far too dangerous, but she couldn't even bring herself to come any closer than where she was; the top of a hill that supplied a decent view of the village, yet was a few miles away.

From the shadows of the trees, Sasuke watched her. His impatience was obvious, and not because of a failed attempt to try and hide it. He wanted her to know how he was feeling. He had expected her to at least do something more than just stare out at the village in the distance, and clearly he didn't think that this was worth his time. Ebony eyes glared out at her, waiting for her to finish staring at the large village.

Ignoring his irritated glower, Sakura gazed out at the village. She could see the faint silhouettes of the many people in Konoha milling about through the streets. Her heart throbbed to be with them, safe and sound back home. But she couldn't. It wasn't her home anymore. Not after what she did… Even if they never found out, she couldn't bring herself to go back with the knowledge of what she did. She could never bring herself to do it. The guilt would kill her.

Sighing deeply, Sakura closed her emerald eyes. "Ok, I'm ready now…" she murmured, then turned back to look at Sasuke. Only he wasn't there. "Hello?" she asked, glancing around. But there wasn't a sign of his existence.

_He abandoned me? That good for nothing—_

"Sakura Haruno," a deep voice growled.

The pinkette's green eyes widened. Slowly she turned toward the voice. Before her stood a single shinobi, his leaf headband gleaming in the afternoon light. His hard eyes stayed fix on her face, a kunai firm in his hand.

"I—" She started to say.

Before she had a chance to finish, the shinobi—a jounin from the village which she recognized—interrupted her. "Sakura Haruno," he repeated, "you are under arrest for the murder of Naruto Uzumaki."

_They know?! _She took a slight step back, her eyes fixed firmly on the jounin's face. "Wha—"

"Don't lie. We know the truth." He glared at her; Sakura recognized disgust in his eyes towards her. She didn't know how, but they knew the truth.

Sakura glanced around to see that three more ninjas had materialized out of the nearby forest. Sakura was almost completely surrounded. If she had any hope of getting out of her, she had to move _now_.

Bunching her muscles, the kunoichi lunged backwards. She twisted around in midair and raced into the forest behind her. But she heard the sounds of pursuit behind her and knew that they were on their way.

The trees flashed past as Sakura scrambled from branch to branch. She tore through the forest, keeping her pursuers in her peripheral vision. But she couldn't shake them, no matter how hard she ran. Luckily, she knew the terrain very well and knew what areas to avoid. Yet she still they clung right on her heels.

_Sasuke, where the heck are you?! _Sakura wailed in her head. Her partner had abandoned her… He left her to die here in the hands of the Hidden Leaf.

Rounding a bend, Sakura skidded to a halt in alarm. Right in front of her were five shinobi, all of them wielding weapons and pointing them towards her. She turned and saw her pursuers land right behind her. She was trapped.

Before she had a chance to move again, two of the shinobi surrounding her threw shuriken at her. The blades whizzed past her, almost nicking her arms. But the path of the weapons caused them to circle around her multiple times, pulling the thin strings attached to the blades. Those strings wrapped tightly around Sakura, pinning her arms to her side and her legs together. Before the kunoichi had the chance to try and break free, chains replaced the strings. She was caught.

They dragged her through the forest none too gently. Closer and closer to Konoha they brought her. But she said nothing. She knew what was going to happen. She knew that her master would come running the moment she heard the news about Sakura. She knew that she could try to explain herself. And she knew that it would determine her fate.

* * *

From the shadows, a lone man watched. His onyx eyes stayed fixed on the Leaf shinobi and their prisoner, watching and waiting for the right moment to strike.

Sakura had accused him of abandoning her. Uchiha knew that much. He didn't even have to ask her to know that she had done it. She never trusted him in the first place. But he had sensed the oncoming ninjas and disappeared to avoid being seen. He didn't have the chance to warn Sakura of what was happening. It all happened to quickly. Now he just had to bid his time and wait for the right moment to free his partner.

* * *

The shinobi stopped in a clearing and positioned themselves around the pinkette, prepared to hold off any attack until the Hokage arrived. Sakura just crouched in the center silently, making sure that she had enough chakra to break the chains should it prove necessary. In their haste to capture her, the Leaf ninjas hadn't used chakra absorbing chains. The ones they had used shouldn't take too much chakra to break.

Lady Tsunade didn't keep the pinkette waiting for long. She appeared at the edge of the clearing only minutes after they arrived. Breathing deeply to catch her breath, the Hokage studied her apprentice, bound in chains at the center of the clearing. Sakura's bright green eyes met her master's brown ones, waiting for her to speak.

After a slight hesitation, the Hokage's gaze hardened. "Sakura Haruno. You are under arrest for the murder of Naruto Uzumaki," she announced formally to the kunoichi.

Sakura strained against the chains and responded, "Let me explain!"

Her brown gaze softened the slightest bit. "Sakura… No explanation could explain away this crime. You killed the hero of Konoha. No reason is good enough."

"What? No! Just let me—"

The Hokage shook her head ever so slightly. "Take her back to the Leaf for interrogating. This isn't over—not yet, anyway." Without another word, the Hokage turned and strolled back towards Konoha.

Sakura crouched there, her eyes wide and full of shock. "Give me… A chance…" she whispered hollowly. Her gaze fell to the ground. _Why won't you listen to me?! Just give me a chance to explain! _She whimpered to herself. But her teacher, her master, her sensei didn't come back. Lady Tsunade had gone.

A tug at the chains brought Sakura back to the present. She snapped her head up and dug her feet into the ground. She couldn't let them capture her… Not like this. Not if the Hokage wouldn't even listen.

The kunoichi channeled her chakra to her arms, feeling the monster strength surge up inside of her. After enough of it had built, she strained against the chains as hard as she could, using as little chakra as necessary to break the metal links. They creaked in protest but only lasted a matter of seconds before shattering. Sakura punctuated this with a loud, "Cha!"

The shinobi tugging at the chains stumbled back at the sudden release of pressure. All of the others tensed and pulled out their weapons, caught off guard but still ready to fight to bring this rogue down. Sakura knew that she couldn't take them all on… She was as good as trapped. They knew it, she knew it. It was only a matter of time.

Six shuriken whizzed past Sakura's ear from behind her. She flinched but they weren't aimed at her. The pinkette watched as the weapons imbedded themselves deep into several of the shinobi in front of her. They all fell to the ground in agonizing pain.

Turning, Sakura stared over her shoulder at the one who had stepped out of the shadows. He stood, his spiky raven hair ruffled by the breeze. Muscular arms and chest rippled under his high-collared white shirt. Blazing red sharigan glaring out on his enemies. It was Sasuke Uchiha.

"S-S-Sasuke! I thought you—"

His strong words interrupted the pinkette. "Sakura."

Her eyes met his. "What?" she asked quietly.

"_Run_."

* * *

**A/N;** Poor Sakura... I'm so evil to her... Well, here's another chapter! Hope it met your expectations!

I really hate to say this, but I'm having serious writer's block on this story... I know a little of what I want to happen, but not enough!:(  
Don't worry, this doesn't mean I'm giving up on this story. I've found the only options with a writer's block is to either wait however long it takes to get ideas back or to push through it. I'm choosing the later, so no promises about how amazing the next chapters are going to be in relation to the former ones (although I'm not sure if any of them are awesome.)

Despite my evil writer's block, I'm aiming to update 2 weeks from today; that is a Tuesday. Most of my chapters have been uploaded on Tuesdays I've noticed, so that's my aim.

**Got Questions?**

If you're confused on anything at all in the story, feel free to ask! I don't want any confused people walking around. No matter how stupid you think the question is, ask away! After all, the only stupid question is a question not asked. (Don't forget that I have the right to not answer any questions… don't want to give away any surprises I have in the future!)

**Review, if you please!**

I'd really appreciate if you'd review. Tell me what you think I should change, any ideas you have, etc… I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Have a wonderful 2 weeks waiting for the next chapter!

-Cynder7777


	13. Chapter 13 Just Run

**Disclaimer; **I hope you figured out by now that Naruto isn't mine.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 13; Just Run**

Sakura took Sasuke's command; she tore out of there as fast as her feet could carry her. Uchiha delayed them for a second longer and then he was right on her heels.

The two fled through the forest, streaking past the trees and animals as fast as they possibly could. Far in the distance they could hear the sounds of pursuit but their hunters were far enough away that it didn't matter. Both rouges were home free.

They wondered aimlessly for a while, just striving to place as much ground as possible between them and Konoha. After a while, both ninjas slowed to a brisk jog to replace their full out sprint.

Soon Sasuke took the lead and silently led them to a small cave hidden well within the forest. Taking a quick break, both ninjas fought to catch their breaths.

When she at last had enough air to talk, Sakura turned to Sasuke. "I… I thought you abandoned me…" she stammered, still out of breath.

He shot her a glare. "I wouldn't just run off and abandon you, Sakura. I'm supposed to be protecting you, not leaving you to be captured by the Leaf." His hard eyes narrowed even farther. "Besides, I sensed the ninjas before you did. I wasn't able to warn you before they came. So I just waited them out for the right opportunity to get you back." Uchiha fell into silence after his quick explanation.

After a moment of silence, Sakura murmured, "Oh." Her green eyes shifted to the ground. "I suppose that that means it's time for us to head back to the Sound."

Sasuke nodded shortly.

With a fatigued sigh, Sakura nodded. "Alright… We should probably get going then."

Without another word, Sasuke strolled out of the cave and crept out into the forest. Pausing to look both ways, he then dashed out and started leaping across the trees, branch by branch.

Keeping her gaze down, the pinkette followed him.

* * *

With an aggravated sigh, Tsunade stormed back into her office. The hunt for Sakura had proved hopeless. The newly turned rogue was gone.

The Hokage's heart burned in anger at the thought of Sasuke Uchiha, who her shinobi had reported seeing at the scene. He broke her free. Uchiha had taken Konoha's only chance of finding out the truth. His crimes just continued to stack up, yet he hadn't achieved his goal. She knew that his heart still blazed with hatred for his brother. Of course, Itachi was nowhere to be found.

The Hokage threw herself down on her chair and growled in anger at herself. Now that she thought about it, she could've at least tried to be more understanding towards Sakura… It almost seemed like the kunoichi had something important to say, yet in the moment fiery Tsunade had shot her down. In her attempt to try not to give her student special treatment, she had ended up pushing her away.

A deep sigh rattled in the air. Sakura seemed like she was about to tell her something important… Something about why she did what she did. If only she had taken advantage of the moment… But it was too late now.

Sakura Haruno was gone.

* * *

A handful of ninjas scrutinized every inch of the forest in a general area between the Hidden Leaf Village and the Land of Sound, yet found nothing. Even the ninja hounds that were with the group couldn't find enough of a scent to follow. No matter how hard they looked, there was nothing to find. Sakura was gone.

Ruffling the bushes in a futile last attempt, the ANBU Black Ops gathered in a clearing silently. With a single shake of their heads, they verified what they had already guessed.

"We should get back to Lady Hokage," one grunted. His shaggy brown hair hung down over the edges of his mask, shaped like the head of a leopard.

Another one nodded. "There isn't even the faintest trace of them. The Inuzuka clan dogs confirmed that." He turned his head towards two ninjas standing next to large, wolf-like dogs. They returned the gaze calmly through black eyes.

"But we can't just give up… Those two couldn't have just vanished," a different ANBU argued.

"What would we have done even if we found them?" the fourth demanded. The hawk-like mask that covered his face seemed dark and ominous in the shadows of the trees.

When the other ANBU didn't respond, the first interjected, "Nothing. Not even we stand a chance against that Uchiha. It would be better for us to return before any other problems arise. We are close to the edge of our border…"

"But—"

"There is nothing more for us to do." Without another word, that ANBU turned and dashed off in the direction of Konoha. He was followed closely by the others, along with one of the tracker ninjas.

The other trotted up to the remaining ANBU, his large dog following closely.

"Do you really think there is more we can do?" the Inuzuka asked. His canine's barked in enunciate those words.

The ANBU shinobi glanced at him, her long black hair slipping across her cat-like mask. "I think I have one last place that we should look. But no one really takes me seriously out of this group… They'd never want to check it out if I mentioned it."

"Well, what is it?" Inuzuka demanded. His slit eyes gleamed, strands of his deep brown hair falling in them. "Tsume and I won't mind checking it out," he added, rubbing his pony-sized dog's muzzle.

The ANBU studied him for a second. "You really wouldn't mind?" she asked softly.

With a shrug, the tracker ninja grunted, "Sure."

"Follow me." She turned and dashed off, followed closely by Inuzuka.

Only a little while later she stopped at the mouth of a cave. "This is some sort of a tunnel… Not sure how far it goes into the Land of Fire though."

One whiff of the entrance and the dog bristled, a low growl rumbling in its throat. "We got something!" its master exclaimed excitedly.

Before the ANBU had a chance to even respond, the wolf-like dog howled once towards the sky with deafening volume. Tossing its head, the hound lowered itself to the ground and glanced over at its master. With a sly grin, he leapt up on its back.

"Hop on!" he told the ANBU. She hesitated, then climbed on behind him on the large dog. Turning, he softly murmured, "Tsume alerted the other dogs that we found the scent. They should be able to find this place and follow the trail themselves." Turning back around, he cued his dog to go.

"But wait…" she called a second before the canine would have started moving. "Whose scent did you pick up exactly?"

"Who?" Inuzuka laughed. "Why, Sakura Haruno's of course!"

* * *

Sasuke slowed to a stop, gazing firmly at the shadowy entrance to yet another one of Orochimaru's lairs. He glanced over his shoulder softly at his companion.

She was just falling into a slow walk, her pink hair hanging down over her shoulders, strands falling in her emerald eyes. Putting her arms on her knees, the kunoichi started to calm her rapid breathing from the running they had done. In only a day, they had reached one of Orochimaru's hideouts hidden deep within the Land of Sound. Now, they were back.

Studying Sakura out of the corner of his eyes, Sasuke crossed his arms and waited for her to catch her breath while he secretly did that himself. The hollow look in her normally bright eyes was almost crushing. A deep sorrow at what she had just done and been through now lurked in her normally optimistic exterior. She wasn't even trying to hide the dullness she must be feeling. Sasuke didn't understand exactly why but it made him want to hold her tight.

_I can't believe this… I thought I got rid of these feelings all those years ago when I left. I couldn't break her heart and take her with me, never to return to the place she loved… I had to kill the feelings in my heart. Yet they demand to return now of all times? _He scowled inside. Outwardly, he stayed blank and emotionless, just leading the way inside the damp hideout.

It only took a matter of seconds for a Sound ninja to find them. He greeted them warmly and told both to follow him. Silently they did that.

This led them to a rather large laboratory full of test tubes, home to strange beings encased in weird liquids. Sasuke ignored this; he was rather use to seeing strange things like what was in the test tubes from all of his time around the missing-nin. But Sakura took everything into sight.

Orochimaru was standing in front of one of the tubes and studying whatever humanoid creature he had inside. Without even turning around, the Sannin stated smoothly, "I presume that you're mission went well and was successful?"

Neither ninja said anything.

"Well?" Orochimaru demanded, his amber eyes still glued to the test tube.

"It went fine," Sasuke stated bluntly.

"Did she do it? Did she do what she was supposed to do?" Slowly he turned and fixed them with a smug smirk.

"Yes."

"Excellent…" Orochimaru's tongue snapped over his lips. "Find Haruno a place to stay for the night," he calmly stated to the shinobi who stood nearby. Taking Sakura with him, the shinobi left. Sasuke and Orochimaru were soon alone in the room full of twisting shadows from the glow of the tubes.

"Orochimaru." Sasuke set his jaw firmly and glared at the one who was supposed to be his master.

"Yes, Sasuke?" the outlaw sneered softly.

After a slight hesitation, Sasuke demanded coldly, "Why did you force Sakura to do that?"

Those amber eyes gleamed darkly. "Why do you ask?"

Sasuke said nothing.

Pausing slightly, the Sannin purred, "To make sure that she was loyal and to shatter any chance of Konoha using her as a spy." He narrowed his eyes. "I'm no fool. I could tell that nothing was right about her. Sakura Haruno would have never accepted my deal; not for all the power in the world. This guarantees that she has no choice but to work for me, for her village could never accept her after what she did. Besides, Uzumaki was growing rather obnoxious with his 'heroism' for the village. Nothing irks me more than him digging his nose where it didn't belong and messing up my plans to destroy the Leaf. Does that answer your question?"

It did, yet it didn't. Sasuke knew that what he really wanted was a reason for Orochimaru to crush the kunoichi's spirits and leave her with nothing. He knew the strategic planning of the snake-obsessed outlaw, although something told him there was more to killing Naruto than just getting rid of a pest. Yet Sasuke didn't push the issue. He just blinked shortly and walked away.

With one last smirk, Orochimaru called, "Training again in the morning, Sasuke."

But Uchiha ignored him.

* * *

**A/N;** I made my goal (barely!) This isn't my favorite chapter... It isn't very good... But bear with me. I'm trying... Stupid writer's block.

This chapter is considerably shorter than the others. Sorry about that.

Hopefully the next one will be better... I'm shooting again for two weeks.

**Got Questions?**

If you're confused on anything at all in the story, feel free to ask! I don't want any confused people walking around. No matter how stupid you think the question is, ask away! After all, the only stupid question is a question not asked. (Don't forget that I have the right to not answer any questions… don't want to give away any surprises I have in the future!)

**Review, if you please!**

I'd really appreciate if you'd review. Tell me what you think I should change, any ideas you have, etc… I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Hope you enjoyed.

-Cynder7777


	14. Chapter 14 Emerge

**Disclaimer; **I do not own Naruto!

This chapter was seriously rushed... But I made my deadline! Hope it isn't too terrible...

* * *

**Chapter 14; Emerge**

Shaking her head ever so slightly, Sakura lowered her gaze and stared hollowly at the ground. After a quick medical examination to make sure she wasn't still wounded, the Sound ninjas had left her locked in her room. Now Sakura was completely alone with her thoughts, which in this case wasn't a good thing.

Every time the young kunoichi closed her eyes, she could see Naruto's cerulean gaze fading as he fell into unconsciousness. She shuddered and tucked her knees up even closer to her chest, her arms wrapped tightly around them. Staring hollowly off into space, Sakura sighed.

_I'm… I'm a rogue now. Konoha has rejected me. I didn't even get the chance to explain! _Her fists clenched defiantly. _Even worse, I'm a rogue under Orochimaru of all people. I have to get out of here…_

_But where to go? _A hollow whisper in the back of her mind said. _You can't really expect to escape here alone… _

She frowned at herself and shifted her weight ever so slightly. _It's true… I can't do this alone. _She leaned her head back against the cold stone wall when it came to her. _Wait! I won't do it alone… I can persuade someone to come with me! But who…?_

By a twinge in her gut, Sakura knew who. She knew who was the only one she had even a slight chance of persuading. But she hated him so much… _No. I—I can't bring myself to beg to him. I need someone else. I refuse to go with Sasuke Uchiha._

Yet she knew that he was the only option. He was the only one who might listen. Sakura sighed in defeat and silently acknowledged, _It has to be Sasuke. That's the only option. _

* * *

A young kunoichi submerged herself back into the darkness of the small cave. She tucked a strand of her long bluish black hair behind her ear as she knelt down and placed a damp cloth over her companion's brow. After a slight hesitation, she ran a finger gently on his cheek.

Her companion had his eyes shut tightly and trembled slightly with fever. The kunoichi sighed with worry at him. He was gravely wounded and had lost lots of blood. It was a miracle that he hadn't developed infection in his wounds. But fever had set in and he was struggling to hang onto his life. It was all she could do to keep him alive.

Standing, she stood up and moved over to the small fire. She tossed a few pieces of wood into it to keep it going before moving back to her companion. She carefully unwrapped the bandage across his chest and cringed at the sight of the jagged gash. It was oozing with pus, the edges of it a sickly pale color. Biting her lip, the kunoichi wrapped a fresh bandage around his muscular chest for it was all she could do with her limited supplies. He groaned in pain as she moved him, but there was nothing she could do.

_He isn't getting better… _She thought bitterly. _He needs a real medic. I can't do anything to help him… _Her gaze shifted to the entrance of the cave, worry gleaming in her white eyes. Outside, a steady stream of rain fell. Lowering her gaze, she rubbed her arm softly. _This weather won't let me get away to explore the forest. I have no idea where I am…_

Shifting her gaze over to her ailing companion, the kunoichi silently wondered, _What happened to the rest of our squad? Did they figure out what happened and make it out ok? _But there was nothing she could do to tell.

Kneeling next to him once again, the kunoichi switched the rags on his steaming forehead. _Oh, please get better… _

Sapphire blue eyes opened to slits and blinked painfully up at the kunoichi. "Hinata…" he whispered hollowly.

"Oh, Naruto! You need to rest. Don't strain yourself…" she whispered to him. His eyes fluttered painfully closed.

_Oh, Naruto… You have to get better!_

* * *

The ruffle of papers echoed in the large room. A gasp rose followed by a soft growl of frustration and anger, punctuated by shock.

"Lord Kazekage, sir!" a shinobi lifted his head from his bowed position.

Blue-green eyes flickered up from the scroll. "I… I can't believe it…" the Kazekage stammered as he set the papers down.

"What, Lord Gaara?" a kunoichi standing behind him glanced over his shoulder at the paper with dark blue eyes. Her spiky hair hung down over her eyes.

Turning his head, the 17-year old Kazekage told his older sister, "It's… It's from the Hidden Leaf Village."

"Well what is it?" she demanded, staring at him sharply.

His shaggy auburn hair shifted as he turned his head back towards the wooden desk that he sat at. "It… It says that Naruto Uzumaki is… Is dead."

"Dead?!" she jerked back in surprised alarm. "But… But that's impossible!"

"That isn't what this says, Temari." Gaara sighed. "It says that he was killed by… By Sakura Haruno."

"That can't be true!" Temari exclaimed. "Sakura Haruno is his teammate and friend! She wouldn't do it!"

Gaara lowered his head and murmured, "No. The Hokage said here that Haruno went rogue and ended up killing Naruto." His eyes outlined by black rings narrowed.

Temari turned her head away and grumbled something under her breath. Turning back to her younger brother, she noticed the look of grief in his eyes. With a pang, she remembered the close bond that the Kazekage had with Naruto. They were both Jinchuuriki, people who had one of the powerful tailed beasts stored inside them. Both had received the same rejection and fear from their villages and were incredible alike. When the Village Hidden in the Sand had tried attacking the Hidden Leaf with the assistance of the Hidden Sound, Naruto had ended up battling Gaara. He had won and saved his village from the attack of the Sand. This encounter had changed Gaara for the better. The two of them still had a strong bond. Hearing what had happened to Naruto must be terrible for the Kazekage.

But soon the sorrow in his eyes faded and the Kazekage turned his gaze firmly back to the shinobi in front of him. "Thank you. You are dismissed." With a nod, the ninja turned and exited the room, leaving the Kazekage alone with his sister.

She put a hand on her brother's shoulder. "You ok, Gaara?" she asked.

Clenching his teeth, he growled, "I'll be fine." He set the scroll aside and told his sister, "Don't you have a mission to go do?"

With a worried glance, Temari shrugged and said, "Alright... I better go." She turned and started to leave the room. Pausing at the doorway, she glanced one more time at the Kazekage before disappearing.

Gaara lowered his head, his auburn hair hanging down in his eyes. His hair shifted to reveal the kanji of love carved on his forehead. He pressed a hand up against his forehead and sighed hollowly. _Naruto… I refuse to believe that you've died. What the heck has happened to you? _

* * *

Sasuke padded down one of the many halls. He had just come from a training session with Orochimaru and was ready to take a nice long nap. Silently he moved down the shadowy tunnel, cast in an eerie light by the torches.

In a matter of days, he would be leaving with Orochimaru for a different base. For the time being, Sasuke was just going to sleep in this secluded area of the lair. A small part of him longed to find out what happened to Sakura, but Sasuke kept that in a tight hold. He wouldn't let his emotions emerge.

Rounding one of the final corners, Sasuke almost plowed into Moekasu. She was leaning up against the wall, her brown bangs hiding her eyes and her green cat-eyes gleaming.

His onyx eyes narrowed hostilely at the sight of the younger girl. She smirked slightly at his reaction. "Sasuke. I've been looking for you."

"Why?" he bluntly stated. Uchiha wasn't one for small talk.

Standing up, the kunoichi crossed her arms and blocked the path. If the raven wanted to, he could easily brush past her and continue. But a small part of him wondered what was going on…

"I've heard rumors about what's been going on…" Moekasu purred vaguely.

"Hn."

She snorted. "Rumors involving you and Sakura."

His eyes hardened. "What sort of rumors?"

Meeting his gaze coolly, she purred, "That you were standing up to Orochimaru after your mission with her… That you were angry that he had forced her to do something so personal…"

"Where did you hear that?" The outlaw growled stiffly.

She cringed slightly. "Ok, fine. They weren't rumors. I heard those things in person."

"Eavesdropping again?" he demanded.

"Maybe…"

Anger flashed through Sasuke. It was no surprise that Moekasu had been listening in; it was one of her bad habits. But the fact that she was eavesdropping in on him… That was what ticked him off. His eyes flashed red with the sharigan.

At the sight of those crimson eyes, Moekasu took a slight step back, a wary look flashing across her face. "Calm down. I didn't mean to. And you're the only one I've told about this."

Despite the rage he still felt, Uchiha relaxed his tensed muscles and glared at her hostilely. "I have a feeling that that wasn't your point."

"Then you're right." She met his gaze firmly, either out of bravery or foolishness. "Sasuke… You have feelings for her, don't you?"

He narrowed his eyes to the thinnest slits. Moekasu knew him pretty well. She was right. But there was no way he would ever acknowledge it. So all he gave was his typical "hn."

"Come on, Sasuke. I know it's true…" A playful glint colored her bright green eyes. "You like her."

Aloofly, he pushed past her. The smaller ninja growled in frustration and glowered at his disappearing back, then sighed. "Don't lie to yourself," she called before heading back down the hall.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and stopped his kekkei genkai. There was no point in wasting his time with her right now. So Uchiha just found his way into a dark room and lay smoothly down on the bed, more than pleased to finally go to sleep.

* * *

It was morning when they unlocked the door to Sakura's room. She hesitantly emerged after a while to find Kabuto waiting calmly. The silver-haired ninja smirked at the sight of the familiar pinkette.

"Lord Orochimaru is waiting…" he sneered. With a slight toss of his head to indicate that she should follow, the medical ninja turned and padded down the hall. Sakura sighed hollowly but followed.

It didn't take long for both ninjas to reach Orochimaru. He wasn't in his lab, nor was he in his large "throne room." Instead, they found him in one of the training halls with Sasuke.

Sakura found herself glaring over at Sasuke before she realized that doing so would only make it harder to convince him to join her in leaving this place. But luckily he showed no sign of noticing, let alone caring. Emerald eyes snuck over to meet Orochimaru's amber ones.

"Ah, Sakura… I hope that a day of rest served you well," Orochimaru hissed.

She nodded stiffly.

"Excellent…" A smirk crossed his face. "I presume that you're wondering what I could have possibly called you for…"

Blinking softly, Sakura shrugged. "I suppose," she murmured. Despite her claim, a huge part of her was absolutely _dying _to know.

He flicked his creepy tongue. "Because of you wonderful success at your last mission… I have decided to… To train you."

Tensing, Sakura stared at him in shock. "T-train me?" She stammered. "But… But why?"

Tilting his head to the side, Orochimaru hissed, "Sasuke has learned almost all of what he possibly could from me. I can still teach him a little but once that much dries out he'll probably want a new way to train. If I teach you, then you can eventually become his sparring partner."

Every part of Sakura cried out in disgust. A sparring partner for Sasuke? No! But slowly it settled in that this would be the perfect opportunity for her to try and persuade him to leave with her. _If I'm going to be around him so much… Then I'll surely get the chance to speak with him alone._

When her logic finally won over her heart, Sakura nodded. "Alright," she murmured. "I'll do it."

* * *

Deep in a dark cave a long ways away, nine mysterious figures gathered. Each was clad in a long black cloak decorated with red clouds that gleamed in the faint light of the large room they gathered in.

Light purples eyes with a hypnotic pattern of lines in them met the gaze of all of the others. He stared at them firmly in turn, then softly announced, "It is time for us to start moving."

A man with cruel purple eyes snapped, "What made you suddenly decide this _now, _oh great leader?" Sarcasm dripped from his voice.

"Oh, shut the heck up, Hidan," another man scoffed, his strange eyes with red sclera and green irises. He turned back to the leader and added, "I'm sure that our leader would be more than willing to explain."

The tallest man with white eyes and grayish blue skin purred, "Yes, we'd like to know why you're making this decision now."

The leader responded calmly, "Because the Nine Tails Jinchuuriki was killed."

All of the members of this secretive council tensed. "Dead?" A man with only one slate-blue eye visible asked.

"Yes. He was killed by a rogue under Orochimaru."

Brown eyes flashed at the mention of that name, but the owner of those eyes said nothing.

Red sharigan very similar to those of Sasuke met the gaze of the leader. "What do you want us to do?" the man asked.

Meeting everyone's gaze once again, the leader announced, "I want you to go out and find your respective Jinchuuriki. Itachi, because yours is no longer available for now, just help Kisame get his. We must move quickly, for now might be the best time to go. We want to be fully prepared for when the Nine Tails appears again."

With silent nods and a little bit of grumbling from different people, the nine outlaws of tremendous power prepared to leave.

As the final words, the leader announced, "Let this meeting of the Akatsuki be over for now. You are dismissed. Now go and find the Jinchuuriki."

* * *

**A/N: **There we go! The next chapter! I just set this up for future events... Sorry if it seems like a filler and it isn't very good quality. But I made my goal and I'm happy! In two weeks I'll try to post again!

**Got Questions?**

If you're confused on anything at all in the story, feel free to ask! I don't want any confused people walking around. No matter how stupid you think the question is, ask away! After all, the only stupid question is a question not asked. (Don't forget that I have the right to not answer any questions… don't want to give away any surprises I have in the future!)

**Review, if you please!**

I'd really appreciate if you'd review. Tell me what you think I should change, any ideas you have, etc… I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Hope you enjoyed!

**Edit: I'm sorry but I won't be updating this story, at least for the time being. I just can't find any inspiration anymore. I hope to finish this story someday but it won't be today... Sorry.**

-Cynder7777


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